The University of Wisconsin-Madison Athletic Board approved Friday a budget of more than $133 million for the university’s athletic department next year.
The budget is a $19 million dollar increase from last year’s budget, which amounted to approximately $114 million dollars.
UW-Madison Associate Athletic Director for Business Operations Randy Marnocha said the increase in the budget is largely due to an increase in capital funding to complete construction of the Student-Athlete Performance Center.
Marnocha added the budget does not include any increases in ticket prices, despite a drop in revenue from hockey ticket and parking purchases.
“We’ve done the best we can to not pass on any unnecessary costs to our fan base,” Marnocha said.
The budget also contains nearly $3 million in revenue made from the Big Ten Network which will be invested on campus. This amount, part of which will go toward need-based scholarships, is significantly larger than what is given back to campuses at other Big Ten universities, according to Marnocha.
The budget was approved by the Athletic Board Friday with only one abstention vote and will pass to the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents for final approval.
Athletic Director Barry Alvarez also spoke about possible changes to Big Ten football scheduling given the recent additions of Rutgers University and the University of Maryland.
Alvarez said the league is considering an increase to nine or ten conference games in the future, adding that geography and number of home games are being taken into account during the negotiations. He said changes are not likely to be made until at least 2016.
Also in the meeting, new Badgers volleyball head coach Kelly Sheffield introduced himself to the Board. The university hired Sheffield in December following the resignation of former head coach Pete Waite in November.
Sheffield said he and his staff have met with players and recruits and outlined plans for the program.
“Our message to them has been, with the resources we have here and the support we have-- the facilities, the crowds--this should be one of the best places in the country in the sport of volleyball and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Sheffield said.
