CU Buffs athletic department pleased with balanced budget

After positing three consecutive years of financial losses from 2012 to 2014, the Colorado athletic department balanced its budget for the second year in a row during the 2016 fiscal year, which came to a close in June.

"That was one of the missions of the strategic plan, so we were able to accomplish that," said Cory Hilliard, associate athletic director/business operations and chief financial officer. "We budgeted responsibly, which was key, and things relatively went as planned, with the exceptions being mostly positive."

Some of those exceptions included a jump of roughly $2.33 million in conference distribution — taking in nearly $26.8 million — and a $2.5 million spike in sponsorship…