The Southeast Missouri State athletics department will work within a budget that is 10 percent larger than last year's, an increase that is larger than the university's overall spending, according to the operating budget that will be submitted for approval at today's Board of Regents meeting.

The proposed budget for 2008-09 includes $7.71 million for athletics, an increase of 10.5 percent over the previous year's budget of $6.98 million.

The increase for the department reflects some of the $400,000 approved at the Board of Regents meeting last month in reaction to an athletics review as part of the university's strategic planning initiative. The review called for an additional assistant athletic director position to conduct external affairs such as marketing and fundraising and four part-time assistant coaches for women's soccer, softball, gymnastics and volleyball as well as Title IX enhancements and facilities modifications.

The university's overall budget is expected to climb 5.9 percent from $91.2 million for fiscal year 2007-08 to $96.6 million.

The university is increasing its commitment to athletics by 5.4 percent over the 2007-08 budget. It has earmarked an institutional commitment of $4.82 million after a commitment of $4.58 million the previous year.

While the 2008-09 budget marks the first time the university projects more than $7 million in spending on athletics, audits and data reported by the university show the department has been at that level in recent years.

An audit released for the department in early 2007 for the 2005-06 school year showed $7.87 million in expenses and $7.76 million in revenues. Data reported to the U.S. Department of Education as part of the Equality in Athletics review showed expenses and revenues for the 2006-07 school year each at $7.68 million.

It is possible the budget for 2008-09 could be adjusted upward, especially with transportation costs. Each program has been budgeted for increases in operating expenses — an increase of $75,272 for the six men's sports and $94,195 for the nine women's sports — but university president Dr. Kenneth Dobbins said Monday a budget amendment could be sought in the future if the high fuel prices remain an issue and result in greatly increased travel costs for the department.

Athletic director Don Kaverman and assistant AD Cindy Gannon were not available Monday for comment on the budget.

The Board of Regents will meet 9:30 a.m. today in the Glenn Auditorium at Robert A. Dempster Hall.

The athletics portion of the proposed budget includes 3 additional employees, including the administrative position that is part of a $97,000 increase in salary and benefits for athletic administration.

Additional personnel are listed in strength and conditioning and the training center, and an additional part-time position is listed in sports information, while the amount budgeted for student employment will drop from $53,050 to $42,500.

In addition to the increase of nearly $170,000 in operating expenses, the budget proposal includes more than $49,000 of additional spending on men's scholarships and $56,000 in women's scholarships.

The designated revenue in this year's budget is itemized differently from past years, and it assumes a 19.9 percent increase from $2.41 million last year to $2.89 million for 2008-09. The budget projects $306,000 in event ticket sales and $791,900 in student athletic fees.

University data in the athletics review this spring reported $293,265 in ticket sales for 2006-07, an increase of $30,000 over the previous year, when the amount had dropped 12 percent from 2004-05. Both the football and men's basketball programs had new coaches following the 2005-06 school year.