Posted: 1:45 PM May 13, 2012 Reporter: The Associated Press
A newspaper reports that the Southern Mississippi athletic department's debt nearly doubled between the start of the 2010-11 fiscal year and fall 2011.
The Hattiesburg American reports that an audit acquired through a public records request shows that the department owed $439,255 in fall 2010 and $790,398 last fall.
The newspaper says football was the only sport that did not lose money in the 2010-11 school year. Football brought in $13,852. Men's basketball lost $484,300 and women's basketball lost $726,800.
Jeff Hammond has said that when he became interim athletics director on Jan. 1, his staff quickly learned that the athletics department is $1 million in debt and will have to fight for years to overcome the current financial problems.
Hammond replaced longtime athletic director Richard Giannini, who retired.