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Editorial: Students Still Not Responsible For Professionals’ Gamble

In Fall 2021, UT-Tyler Athletics Director Howard Patterson proposed a $4 per semester-credit-hour (SCH) increase to students’ mandatory athletics fee and an increase to $300 per semester maximum to cover athletics’ exploding costs since transitioning to NCAA Division II. In a student town hall in 2021, Patterson explained that since entering The Lone Star Conference (the new DII conference for UT-Tyler), its competitive territory’s geographic size had increased dramatically, and along with it, the program’s expenses for travel, food and lodging. “What’s created the biggest challenge for us in moving into Division II," he said in 2021," has been an expansion of the conference since we established our NCAA Division II provisional membership budget.” He said, “By increasing the number of schools in our conference, it’s increased our travel, it’s increased our lodging, it’s increased our food. It’s increased all of our expenses which we didn’t expect at the time,” he said. 

Patterson also said in 2021, “When we went to Division II, it was clear up front that we don’t(sic) have the funds to play at the same level at Division II as we did at Division III.” As for why the University went to DII anyway, Patterson said former UT-Tyler President Michael Tidwell was “the driving force” behind the transition. 

At the time, Patterson said Tidwell pledged that the University would increase its financial support to the program to make-up for the athletics program’s shortfall in the meantime. However, the institution’s cost for doing so became truly burdensome. When the athletics program sought relief in the 2021 fee referendum, it was to both cover the program’s new DII costs and to alleviate the institution which was paying a significant subsidy to the athletics program.

However, students rejected the 2021 proposal 43.85% to 56.15% in a record turnout of 1,106 student voters. Compare this with 660 in 2016.

But now, two years later, the athletics program is back, and pretty much for the same reasons. Yet, this time, the program asks for more.

In its new proposal, athletics wants to increase the per semester maximum payment for each student from $240 to $330, $30 more than what it requested in 2021. It also proposes the increase install over three years instead of two to reach the $330 maximum. Basically, if athletics prevails in the spring ballot, then it will effectively erase its 2021 election loss and obtain the increase it sought from students in 2021.  Plus, it will also get a little more. Effectively, it will be back on track, almost as if the 2021 election did not happen.

Unfortunately, this also means an election victory would effectively nullify the student voters’ opposition in 2021 since athletics will get the increase, but just at a later date. 

However, what was true in 2021 is still true in 2024: students are still not responsible for the University’s decision to leap into DII before it identified a clear path to financial success. Just as they did in 2021, students should affirm that responsibility for the University’s financial situation belongs to the University and to its professional class. They should reject the athletics fee increase proposal at the ballot on March 20. 

What do you think of the athletics fee increase proposal? Please send reader comments to hescock james 01 at gmail dot com.

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