FORT COLLINS – Colorado State’s athletic department needs an additional $2.4 million in assistance from the school’s general fund for the upcoming fiscal year to make its $21.4 million projected budget.
Despite the massive cost of the football staff transition and recent firing of women’s basketball coach Jen Warden — with combined buyouts of nearly $750,000 — CSU athletic director Paul Kowalczyk said Wednesday the current fiscal year will end in June with a balanced budget.
The $2.4 million in assistance comes on top of nearly $4 million from student fees and a similar university appropriation in this year’s budget.
“From about 1996-2005 the appropriation (from the university) was flat and we’ve fallen behind (the rest of the Mountain West Conference),” Kowalczyk said.
The current contribution general university contribution, Kowalczyk said, amounts to one-half of 1 percent of the school’s entire budget.
“From the outside looking in, you can’t say athletics are overemphasized,” Kowalczyk said. “We have a good new commitment. As we stabilize our financial situation we want to be able to help ourselves.”
The cost of the two major buyouts will be stretched over the upcoming year and first half of fiscal 2009-2010, Kowalczyk said. The overall department budget is going up nearly $2 million to account for a higher scholarship bill resulting from tuition hikes and general inflationary expenses, including salaries.
Even with its first $20 million-plus budget, Kowalczyk said “We are dead last in conference expenses.”
Besides new coach Steve Fairchild receiving an estimated $150,000 more annually than predecessor Sonny Lubick, there are five football assistants making at least $100,000 when none reached six figures on the former staff.
Besides the buyouts, some of the moving expenses for the football staff won’t appear until next year’s budget. Kowalczyk said higher than projected MWC distributions will help CSU finish in the black for this fiscal year.
The university appropriation is not a loan, he said. The department was going to go back to the students for a fee hike but pulled the request because of earlier promises not to add to the student bill.
“No one likes to overburden the students,” Kowalczyk said.
Saturday scrimmage
Saturday’s spring football scrimmage will be moved to Hughes Stadium at 1 p.m. There will be a coaches clinic the following weekend April 18-19 in conjunction with the April 19 spring game. Registration information is available at .
Natalie Meisler: (303) 954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com
