Northern Kentucky University is looking to its athletic department for a boost as the school attempts to bounce back from a multi-million dollar budget deficit and its decline in enrollment numbers.
NKU's Board of Regents approved the addition of six new athletics programs during their Wednesday morning meeting. Men's volleyball, along with men's and women's swimming, men's and women's triathlon, and women's STUNT, a cheerleading-based sport, will be the newest additions to the athletic department.
The university will also expand some of its existing programs like track and field, cheerleading, dance, and pep band so more students can participate.
The additions will bring NKU's total number of sports to 22, putting it on par with other universities in the Commonwealth like the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville.
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NKU athletics worked with the university's provost and CFO to identify the sports programs that would be a good fit and could enhance the school's ability to recruit and retain more students. The new sports are projected to bring around 150 additional students to campus, and the expansion of NKU's other programs is projected to add around 100 more.
Board of Regents Chair Rich Boehne says the move is an early step in the university's plan to increase enrollment by making the school more desirable, which will help it address its deficit.
"This is the first move in a multipronged enrollment strategy," Boehne said. "It will improve the lives of even more students and support the university financially as well. It's a win-win."
The six sports programs are all expected to be up and running by 2026 and will receive grant funding to cover their start-up costs. The idea is the new sports will pay for themselves as student enrollment increases, but not everyone on NKU's board is sold on the idea.
Before a vote on the matter was held, regents Michael Baranowski and Cori Henderson both questioned whether the plan could actually deliver on its promises and asked to see more evidence.
"I absolutely love that we're thinking out of the box, that we're being creative," Henderson said. "But again, in order for me to feel comfortable I would to see more concrete numbers."
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"I'd be happy to come back in December if I could get clearer numbers because I want to be able to support this in good conscious knowing that the numbers that I see are the best estimates that we can have at this point," Baranowski told the board.
Baranowski, Henderson, and Brad Zapp were the only regents to vote "no" on the matter. The other seven members approved the move.
Grand funding for the sports programs will only last until the 2027-28 fiscal year. After that, the annual budget for all the new programs will be $966,760. The expansion of existing programs is expected to cost $433,240 annually.
