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Editorial: Students Already Pay More for Athletics


("Money - Savings" by 401(K) - 2012 via Flickr)

If I asked a student how many times he pays for the athletics program in a semester, then what do you think he would say? Once, right, in the mandatory athletics fee?

But what about this: what if I asked him, of the following three payments, in which one does he pay for athletics: designated tuition, The Student Services Fee or The Intercollegiate Athletics Fee? The answer is: all three.

At UT-Tyler, money from both designated tuition (student tuition) and the mandatory Student Services Fee pays for the athletics program in addition to The Intercollegiate Athletics Fee. While students may not realize it, the University effectively triple charges them for the athletics program. UT-Tyler must end this unethical and possibly illegal practice of double and triple charging students in addition to what they pay in the athletics fee. Students should have one fee for athletics—if at all—and once they pay it, they should be done paying for athletics.

Consider how this is true. In this situation, there are two student fees and one university fee (or charge) that students pay that go to athletics. However, by law, it appears it is not supposed to be this way.

According to Texas Education Code EDUC § 54.503, a student service with its own stand-alone fee, such as The Intercollegiate Athletics Fee, is not allowed to draw money from the general, extracurricular activity fee, The Student Services Fee, because it does not qualify as a student service because it has its own separate fee.

The statute reads: "The term [student services] does not include services for which a fee is charged under another section of this code."

Yet, this is precisely what the athletics program does. Though it once qualified for Student Services funding when it went without its own fee, it now no longer qualifies given its separate, individual fee. Athletics does not meet the statutory definition of student services and therefore does not qualify for Student Services Fee money.

Yet, in Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23), the athletics program received $159,510 for Athletics from The Student Services Fee and $65,127 for Athletics Marketing. This does not include the many other athletics-related activities in the Student Services Budget which also receive funding, such as Internet Broadcasting ($23,380) which broadcasts athletics games and Cheerleading & Mascot ($67,639) which is now NCAA competitive STUNT.

Athletics’ draw on the Student Services Fee is an unethical and possibly illegal hidden double charge on students. Once students pay athletics fee, then they should be done paying for the athletics program.

Unfortunately, it’s not over there. After paying for athletics in the athletics fee and then again in The Student Services Fee, students also pay for athletics through tuition. According to Athletics Director Howard Patterson’s Feb. 6 presentation to student government, UT-Tyler paid roughly $2.4 million of tuition money to athletics in FY23. This is tuition money students pay that the institution uses to pay for athletics’ unmet expenses. Paying for athletics once is enough, but to double and triple charge students in multiple hidden charges lacks integrity and exploits students’ trust. UT-Tyler must end its practice of double and triple charging students for athletics though other charges.

Unless UT-Tyler ends its unethical appropriations to athletics through other payments, students will end up paying more for athletics than they realize—just as they do now.

Please send reader comments to hescock james 01 a t gmail dot com.

Feature Image: "Money - Savings" by 401(K) - 2012 via Flickr

 


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