Like most college athletic departments, when Kansas University has more money to spend, it spends it.

With an operating budget approaching $40 million – approximately $13 million more than in the first year of athletic director Lew Perkins’ tenure – the KU Athletic Corp. has breathing room for a change and can use the new cash to make employees happier.

KUAC expects to have a surplus for fiscal year 2005, and that money will go into a rainy-day fund. But a lot of changes are upcoming in the athletic department with the increased money, all with one mission in mind: to make KU’s student-athletes better on and off the field.

“Our strategic goal is to get us in the upper half (of the Big 12 Conference),” Perkins said of the operating budget, “in order for us to compete.”

Though no official figures are released from the Big 12 office, KU is expected to be ranked about seventh for FY 2005, with Texas atop the field again.

Perkins has plans for the additional income. He announced earlier this month the hiring of a full-time nutritionist, a KU first. He also said there were plans to add six more full-time positions: two new trainers, two full-time academic advisors and two additional employees for compliance.

Money also is being worked into expenditures to finance the new summer bridge program, which allows incoming freshman to take six hours of summer school prior to their freshman year at KU.

“It’s not cheap,” Perkins said with a laugh.

But in the long term, it could be beneficial for the KUAC if it helps student-athletes graduate in four years instead of the five their scholarship allows for.

As for other areas seeing increased financial attention, facility improvements are receiving more money than in past years. A new scoreboard was erected less than a month ago at Hoglund Ballpark. Also, an indoor workout facility for KU baseball was just completed.

The exterior walls of Allen Fieldhouse are being cleaned. Plans are also in the works to add a new scoreboard and new windows, among other things, to the aging basketball facility.

The women’s basketball team, meanwhile, moved into new, more spacious offices with the arrival of coach Bonnie Henrickson a year ago.

The work is not done. Perkins wouldn’t elaborate, but he said earlier this month he was awaiting news on three gifts that could benefit KU athletics, perhaps for a football building adjacent to Memorial Stadium. The expected cost for that project is between $25-30 million, and, at last check, $15 million had been raised.

Also benefitting from the budget spike are KUAC employees. An average raise of 3.25 percent was figured into the ’05-06 budget for all employees – and many were well compensated to begin with.

In all, expenditures for salary and fringe benefits are expected to go up $1.6 million next year, figuring in raises and created positions – but KU can afford it thanks to the increased income.

“Overall, it’s been a really good year,” Perkins said. “But we have a lot of room for improvement.”