Kansas Athletics, Inc., officials leave fiscal year 2005-06 pleased with how the operating budget stayed on the safe side of last year’s projection.

There’s little time for back-patting, though. FY 2006-07 is nearly here, and another projection has been released and was discussed during a board meeting Tuesday.

KU expects another increase in its operating budget, consistent with the yearly growth of money under athletic director Lew Perkins since his hire in 2003. The FY 2006-07 projection stands at $47,017,857. The final 2005-06 budget was $40.4 million.

Likewise, expenses will go up, too. For example, operating expenses will increase 14 percent, salary and fringe benefits will go up nine percent, and summer school tuition – which now includes paying for incoming freshmen as part of the popular summer bridge program – has been a monetary punch KU has had to absorb. Grants-in-aid will jump 10 percent.

“It’s a good problem,” Perkins said, “but it’s a big financial burden.”

Perkins, though, said that pledges for next fiscal year already are ahead of schedule, and chief financial officer Susan Wachter expects a significant increase in overall income, as reflected in the budget.

“When you look at both restricted and unrestricted (income), it ends up being about a 10 percent increase,” Wachter said, “which is consistent with our strategic plan.”

Among other highlights from Tuesday’s meeting:

¢ A new expense, projected at around $25,000, is budgeted for the upkeep of Rim Rock Farm, which was donated to KU about a year ago. Associate athletic director Sean Lester said discussions are ongoing about possibly sprucing up Rim Rock, with one idea being to make bus parking more convenient. However, the expense figure budgeted merely is an educated guess.

“It’s kind of an unknown at this point,” Lester said.

¢ Perkins, without having specific numbers handy, said that football season-ticket sales were up from this point a year ago, and that there was a waiting list for the Memorial Stadium suites.

¢ Progress continues to be made on the Anderson Family Football Complex, though KU and HNTB Architecture aren’t to the point where an artist’s rendering can be available. Currently, both interior and exterior designs are being worked out.