Annual Report 2007-08

All together now

It’s not yet 7 a.m., but more than 40 Jayhawk football players already have worked up a sweat in the weight room of the new Anderson Family Football Complex. Chris Dawson, KU football’s director of strength and conditioning, darts quickly around the room — and if he sees a player’s form lapsing, his words fly just as quickly.

The weight room — built completely underground to minimize disruption of the view of the campanile from Memorial Stadium — is just one part of the complex. The complex united all football-related activities in one place, and made spaces formerly used by the football program available to other sports.

Other improvements include state-of-the-art rooms for training, therapy, video review, and interviewing recruits; a 115-person locker area; a players’ lounge; and an auditorium that divides to accommodate the offensive and defensive units simultaneously. Offices for coaches and assistants fill out the upper level.

Assistants can stream video from practices into the complex and prepare it for analysis by the time the team returns. The X-ray equipment in the diagnostic area can transmit images across the country — if an opposing player is injured, his own physician at home can see scans within minutes.

“For us to compete, facilities and resources are crucial, and we’d better stay ahead of the curve,” Dawson says. “This facility certainly puts us in the upper echelon in strength and training.”

State and private support to the university
KU Endowment funds represent a vital element in KU’s annual revenue. Support from the state, measured as a percentage of total university revenue, has decreased over the past 20 years as the state has faced increased demands for other expenditures. As a consequence, private giving has become more critical to the continued success of the university. (The most recent figures on state support are from FY07.)

state and private support

Includes Lawrence campus, Edwards Campus, KU Medical Center, KU Center for Research Inc., KU Unions and Kansas Athletics Inc.
* All figures, including total, have been rounded.