SYRACUSE - Every July, the Wawasee Athletic Department financial report is presented to the Wawasee Community School Corp. Board of Trustees.

Tuesday, Wawasee Athletic Director Mary Hurley presented the report. She said Wawasee was fortunate in that the school corporation has strong family support for its athletes. Go to any sporting event and one can see the peer and family support. Wawasee's real successes are not the state championships but what the student athletes carry away from the programs.

Board member Marion Acton said Wawasee coaches are teachers. "Kids are learning, kids are improving, kids are having opportunities." He commended Hurley "because it takes strong leadership to provide those kind of things."

In the athletic department report, Hurley noted that most of the operating funds of the department come through gate receipts. Other sizable amounts also are generated from the Warrior Open and selling concessions at football and boys basketball games.

Under the revenue comparison of the report, in 2003-04, the Green and Gold generated $21,549, down from $24,472 in 2002-03. Baseball generated $2,942 in 2003-04, compared to $1,979 in 2002-03. Also this past year, boys basketball season tickets generated $598 with gate revenue at $21,805; boys soccer, $1,648; boys track, $1,114; cheerleading, $2,625; football season tickets, $680; football gate revenue, $20,636 (compared to $26,988 in 2002-03); girls basketball season tickets, $334; girls basketball, $9,195 (up from $8,224 in 2002-03, but down from a high of $38,871.50 in 2001-02); girls soccer, $1,183; girls track, $628; gymnastics, $573; softball, $2,705; boys and girls swimming, $3,218; volleyball, $2,736; and wrestling, $2,496.

Totals for all sports for 2003-04 are $96,665, down from $102,439 in 2002-03; and a high of $119,148 in 2001-02. The 2003-04 total is still up compared to the 1996-1997 ($59,813) to 1999-2000 ($95,009.75) revenues.

Wawasee offers six other sports that do not have gate revenues, including boys and girls cross country, boys and girls golf and boys and girls tennis. Gate prices have remained the same for the last six years. The athletic department does have additional income from IHSAA tournament shares, physical exam night, miscellaneous donations, the Warrior Open, football and basketball game programs and concessions.

The largest group of expenses within the athletic department continues to be for equipment needs, totaling more than $73,000 during the 2003-04 school year. This past year, the department purchased a replacement baseball batting cage for a cage that was damaged in a storm, weight room mirrors, gymnastics vault table, wrestling body composition analyzer, pneumatic circulation fan, fax machine, softball outfield fence and other equipment.

Other large groups of expenses include coaching clinics, $4,700; phones and postage, $2,500; officials, $28,000; entry fees to participate, $2,400; and state tournament expenses not covered by the Indiana High School Athletic Association, $3,700.

Wawasee continues to meet the needs of the athletic program largely through the funds generated by the department, Hurley's report says. The Wawasee Athletic Department handled more than $313,000 in and out of the account throughout the year.

As of the date of the report, June 2, the athletic department has $83,500 in certificates of deposit and $19,315.83 available to begin operation in fall 2004.

Hurley's report included a projection for 2004-05 that revenues should remain constant with the 2003-04 figures. [[In-content Ad]]