When thinking about the tennis team finishing 0-11 in the conference for the fourth consecutive year, it would be easy to look at the players or the coaches.

But the last place to look might be the most important – the checkbook.

“The facilities aren’t where they need to be,” said ISU tennis coach Michele Conlon. “As are staffing, travel, recruiting budgets.

“That said, it’s on the coaches, too. But the next program up has double the resources.”

Iowa State’s sports budget, $28.1 million, which ranks last in the Big 12. In comparison, Texas tops the conference with a budget of more than $80 million.

“There are a number of sports we need to fund better,” said senior associate athletic director Steve Malchow. “We’re very much behind the competition in facilities.”

Malchow mentioned several ways the budget could be increased from its current state.

“Revenue is how to expand budgets, or cut back on something,” Malchow said. “We need to sell more tickets, and ticket prices are low. There’s also money from the Big 12, which we can’t control. But we can control fundraisers, like the National Cyclone Club.

“We did recently sign a seven-year, $19 million deal with Learfield Communications for intercollegiate sports teams.”

The deal provides the ISU athletic department with a steady stream of revenue for the next few years, and the department has other supplemental revenue-sharing opportunities. But it cannot end there, and with more money, numerous possibilities exist.

“We have to grow the budget, and if healthy enough, we can add more sports like men’s tennis [and] men’s swimming, as well as baseball,” Malchow said. “Just adding a sport without being able to support it wouldn’t make sense.”

Before adding sports, however, steps must be taken with the programs that already exist.

“Before putting men’s tennis out there we need to invest in women’s,” Malchow said.

With an increased budget, Conlon can increase recruitment efforts.

“There are great players in lots of places,” Conlon said. “And we’ve certainly had some.”

The promise from the athletic department to increase funding for the team is a good sign for Conlon, and should rejuvenate a program that has only six conference wins since 1997.

“There’s a new energy from the new athletic director,” Conlon said. “We can get the tools and resources to compete. I’m pretty excited about the direction, and what the players put in.

“A loss isn’t what we strive for, but it’s not where we’ve been, but where we’re going.”