OXFORD — Ole Miss athletics operated at a deficit exceeding $8 million during the 2023 fiscal year (July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023), according to documents obtained by The Clarion Ledger.

This comes after the athletic department reported a deficit of $5.2 million in the 2022 fiscal year.

Athletic director Keith Carter and senior associate AD for finance Angela Robinson told The Clarion Ledger this week that the losses were planned for and are covered by the athletic department's operational reserves. Ole Miss had reported a profit of roughly $17 million in 2021, thanks in part to an advance on projected SEC TV revenue.

"We feel like we have a plan in obviously growing revenues, but finding a way to slow down those expenses as we go forward," Carter said.

The athletic department's spending increased from $109.7 million in the 2021 fiscal year – still heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic – to $138.8 million in 2022 and $150.2 million in 2023.

Inflation impacts those numbers, and Carter said that he doesn't think spending will continue to increase at the same rate in the years to come.

"I feel like we have had to make up some ground, and we've had to kind of do that quickly," Carter said. "Most of it is in football, honestly. When you think about that, and us saying. 'Hey, we're going to go all in on football. We're going to commit to a coach. We're going to commit to a winning structure.' I think we've seen the results of that."

The investment in and success of the football program, Carter believes, impacts the rest of the athletic department and the university as a whole, citing a strong synergy between himself and Ole Miss chancellor Glenn Boyce. The 5,241 students who enrolled in the fall marked the largest freshman class at any university in Mississippi's history.

Where Ole Miss is spending more

Two of the more noteworthy jumps in spending during the most recent fiscal year came from continued investment in football. Ole Miss spent roughly $2.8 million more on support and administrative staff compensation than it did in fiscal year 2022.

"That's anybody that does not have 'coach' in their title," Robinson said. "We work to be competitive to keep the football support staff above the conference median. It's right in there. I think it's around sixth in total spending ‒ or we were last year."

Ole Miss also spent about $4.2 million more on "other operating expenses," which Robinson said was due to increased tax liability and contractual buyouts.

Robinson said Ole Miss' non-fixed expenses – which excludes things like salaries, game guarantees and debt – are those most controllable by the athletic department. Those expenses rose by roughly 6% in 2023, which she considers to be a strong outcome.

"We're doing a lot to mitigate expenses where we can there," she said.

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Ole Miss' revenues are up

Ticket sales marked a significant area of revenue growth for Ole Miss, which reported $22.4 million in ticketing revenue, up about $3 million from the previous reporting period.

In total, Ole Miss brought in $142.2 million in fiscal year 2023 after reporting $133.6 million in revenue in the previous year. Carter said the athletic department is seeking out different revenue opportunities. Events like the Morgan Wallen concert held at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium during the summer have been considered successful by the athletic department.

There is, of course, monetary help coming for the SEC's member institutions in the form of the conference's new television deal with ESPN set to go into effect next season. Carter declined to disclose numbers when asked how much that would affect Ole Miss' bottom line, but acknowledged the coming impact.

"Would we rather be sitting here with a net profit every year of 10 million bucks? Sure, everybody would," Carter said. "But, I think for us, our job is to pour back into our student-athletes and our coaches and our facilities and make sure that we give everybody the best experience that we can and the best chance to win."

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss football factor heavily in athletics' $8M loss