Lubbock, Texas ? The Texas Tech football program has exceeded its budget by $400,000 since September, sparking conflicts about financial responsibility and debates about how much the college needs to compete in the Big 12 Conference.

The program’s expenses led to a stoppage of outgoing mail for the program in late May, Tech athletic director Gerald Myers said Friday. The football program owed $5,000 in postage to its mail service.

Tech also is undergoing $84.9 million in renovation projects for football and has given coach Mike Leach more in the past two years than former coach Spike Dykes ever had, Myers said.

“We’re determined to be fiscally responsible,” Myers told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “You’ve got to learn how to manage your budgets. They can’t argue to not put a cap on it and spend what you want to.”

Tech’s football operating budget for football was $1.2 million and ranked among the bottom three in the Big 12 Conference, not including salaries or scholarships.