“Salaries are the largest increase among expenditures, increasing $1.34 million to $8.95 million. In December, FAU agreed to make Kiffin the highest paid coach in Conference USA at $950,000 per year and gave him a $1.7 million pool to fill out his staff.”
By Matthew DeFranks
From Sun Sentinel
June 9, 2017
Florida Atlantic’s athletic department will be budgeted more money during the 2017-18 academic year than ever before, according to the school’s proposed operating budget. FAU budgeted $29.33 million for its athletic department, up $2.23 million from last year’s proposed budget.
The proposed $2.23 million increase is the biggest one-year jump for the athletic department since the 2013-14 budget rose $2.69 million from 2012-13. The 2017-18 fiscal year begins in July and will include Lane Kiffin’s first season as the school’s football coach.
The biggest increase in revenue comes from student fees, which will supply an additional $764,655 next year, despite an unchanged contribution rate. Athletics will still collect $17.27 per credit hour from students (the same as previous years), totaling $12.36 million.
FAU is also counting on $1.55 million (a $700,000 gain) from development and capital gifts and a $414,634 increase in ticket sales. The school is expecting $2.05 million in ticket sales across all its sports. FAU Athletic Director Pat Chun previously said that football ticket sales are on pace to potentially break records.
In a May interview, Chun said “a near capacity [crowd] or majority of the house full is probably a safe goal to have” for the season-opener against Navy on Sept. 1. Ticket sales will be vital to FAU as it hopes to offset decreased guarantee game revenue and increased salaries.
Last season, the Owls averaged 10,073 fans per game, the third-worst attendance in the country.
Revenue-wise, the biggest decrease comes from NCAA and Conference USA distribution, which dips to $2.74 million, a drop of about $500,000 from last year. The decrease can be mainly attributed to a shrinking media deal Conference USA has with various television networks.
Salaries are the largest increase among expenditures, increasing $1.34 million to $8.95 million. In December, FAU agreed to make Kiffin the highest paid coach in Conference USA at $950,000 per year and gave him a $1.7 million pool to fill out his staff.
Kiffin and his staff will make about $1 million more than predecessor Charlie Partridge and his staff made.
Other notable expenses: FAU is expecting to pay about $2.2 million on utilities, maintenance and facility rental ($1.34 million increase) and $1.5 million on equipment and supplies (nearly a $500,000 increase).