The “U Paid For It, Use It” forum put on last week by the Student Advocacy Office last week has caused some students on campus to question the fairness of paying the athletic fee.
Aaron Gutwein is one of them. “[I’m] reluctant to pay the fee because I don’t go to games.”
Other students on campus share those same sentiments.
The current fee that students pay each semester for athletics is $45.26. But not all of this money pays for students to be able to attend sports events for free.
According to Chris Hill, director of athletics, the money also helps to pay for the sports that fail to generate any revenue-which are all sports except men’s football and basketball.
The money also helps pay for things like travel, recruiting, game management and equipment, so the fee covers a lot more than just free admission for students. And the U is not the only university to have an athletic fee. Full-time students at Utah State University pay $49.25 to be able to attend games for free, and at Weber State University they pay $41.16.
Brigham Young University does not have an athletic fee included in the tuition, but students who want to attend sports events pay $85 at the beginning of the year for an All-Sports Pass.
Though some students wish the U had a system more like that of BYU, there are others who don’t mind paying the fee at all. “It’s worth it. I enjoy going to the games, and since you pay up front, it almost makes it seem like it’s free later on,” Christian Benzon said. Peter Plaizier, a member of student fan club The Muss said, “It’s worthwhile to help out the other non-revenue sports, and it helps students come to games.”
The student fee is also much cheaper than what the general public pays for season tickets. An adult who buys the cheapest season ticket seats for just men’s football and basketball will shell out nearly $200.
A whole different idea about the fee exists on campus as well, which is represented by psychology major Dustin Jackson.
“You can’t really pick and choose where your tuition goes. Tuition is tuition.”