Overton recently informed the FAMU Board of Trustees that
the department finished the 2016-2017 fiscal year with a $9,500 surplus.
“We implemented several initiatives to reduce spending and
increase revenues,” Overton said. “Not
the least of which was re-commissioning the department-owned bus which had gone
unused for several years. The
instituting of this singular initiative realized a savings of over $100,000 in
itself. In addition, we increased
revenues. The department successfully
raised over $1 million this fiscal year, contributing to the balancing of the
budget.”
If the athletics department continues in its current direction,
it could repeat the financial success FAMU experienced under Riley.
Riley, who started serving as FAMU’s athletic director in
1994, left the department with an estimated surplus of more than $3 million
when he stepped down in 2002.