The way Wichita State funds athletics is changing.

The change comes from WSU President John Bardo. Instead of the athletics budget being decided through the student fees process, Bardo will have control in determining their budget.

“Instead of it being an allocation by committee, I’ll meet with the committee and vice president and explain what we are doing and get feedback on it,” Bardo said.

Before, the Student Government Association reviewed the athletics budget during the student fees process and determined the amount athletics was designated. SGA then discussed the proposed amount, made adjustments and sent the amount to the president for approval.

The funding for athletics will be a separate credit hour charge in students’ fees to WSU.

Bardo said there are two reasons for the change. The first reason is to increase “transparency” for students.

“It is important for students to understand what they are actually paying for (within) athletics,” Bardo said. “The way it is done now, it is not transparent.”

Bardo said there will be a statement in students’ WSU bills that shows what they are paying to athletics for each credit hour.

“By moving to a per-credit-hour charge, we are doing what most other schools do,” Bardo said. “It allows us to control how we charge students.”

The second reason is to stabilize the funding for athletics.

“Because of the way we are structured with athletics — multi-year contracts — and also with success comes cost, I want to stabilize the base for athletics,” Bardo said.

By doing this, Bardo said athletics would know how much funding is available for contracts and other expenses.

Bardo said in the past, there was confusion about the way funding worked, so by making it more transparent, people can better understand why decisions are made.

“This is a move to minimize all of that,” he said.