BYU's sports budget not seeing red ink financing smaller sports

"Plus, the other part of it is, from what I understand we'll probably play two games on the road, like Thursday [and] Saturday," Judkins said. "So now we won't be flying back, and that cost will probably help."

Moody said where the most back-and-forth happens in budget planning is deciding travel budgets with each coach.

"That's sometimes a hard number to put into place, because your away game schedule will change each year, and then inflation, and travel costs go up and down as well," Moody said. "So it's sometimes a little bit of a negotiation to try to peg that number just right."

Mark Robison, BYU men's track head coach, said he has always been satisfied with the budget he is given.

"I don't have any problem at all with my budget," Robison said. "They've supported me very, very well. I have absolutely no qualms whatsoever."

Sometimes, even well-planned budgets are thrown off by surprise costs.

"We can tell pretty well what kind of money it's going to take," BYU swimming and diving head coach Tim Powers said. "[But] there are some things that put a little bit of a cramp in that, and that is airlines decide to start charging for bags."

Judkins said the second-most discussed budget line item is probably equipment, especially video cameras and electronics.

"Your video equipment after a year wears out, your computers, your cameras, all your stuff that you have," Judkins said.

Moody said the Athletic Department keeps coaches informed on the financial situation on the whole department, so the coaches know what is possible for their teams and what is not.

"Generally … we try to be as transparent as possible in providing our budget numbers to the coaches, letting them see as a whole how the athletic department is doing," Moody said. "So they generally see where we are, what we're asking, and it's not like they feel like we're trying to surprise them or twist their arms. We have pretty open dialogue … I think we're all pretty content with where the numbers settle down when we provide a budget to them."

Powers said he and the Athletic Department do their best to achieve the same goal.

"We don't want to waste money," Powers said. "And so we're always on the lookout for the best possible way of making a good experience for the kids and at the same time not bankrupting our program."

E-mail: joshjoed@gmail.com