Athletic fee increase vote postponed

The student fee advisory subcommittee postponed a vote on the revised $45 athletic fee increase Friday, with members saying the athletic department misread their reaction to the fee increase’s initial purpose.

The original plan to use half of the fee increase’s revenue to provide more funding for student athlete scholarships was eliminated last week when the athletic department cut the $90 increase in half and proposed it support Olympic sports only.

But Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Winston Crisp said the department misunderstood the committee’s support for scholarship funding.

A $3 million gap in scholarship funding due to the elimination of a tuition waiver for out-of-state student athletes in 2010 left committee members concerned about the University’s commitment to scholarships more than Olympic sport costs, he said.

The subcommittee will request the athletic department allocate all revenue to scholarships if the fee is approved, and the committee will meet to discuss the increase between Oct. 24 and Oct. 27, said Dwayne Pinkney, associate provost for finance and academic planning.

“We are requesting athletics submit a statement that says the fee revenue will only go to scholarships,” he said. “But even then, we will still deliberate on the issue of the fee increase.”

Chancellor Holden Thorp said he agreed with the decision.

“The best thing for the athletic program would be to give all of it to scholarships,” he said. “I think it’s a good idea.”

Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Bruce Carney said he agreed with the decision as well.

“I’m always in favor of scholarship, frankly,” he said.

But some committee members said they were still not convinced of the necessity of the $45 fee for athletic scholarships.

Alex Mills, treasurer of the Graduate Student and Professional Federation, said need might not be enough in a time of financial strain for students.

“It’s one thing to ask if this is a need we want to support,” he said. “But on the other hand there are students who don’t feel they should be paying $274 for athletics in the first place.”

Pinkney said it is important for the athletic department to know of the committee’s support for scholarships, so the fee increase can get fair consideration in the committee’s meeting.

“It would be unfortunate if the request didn’t get a fair hearing just because they did not know our sentiment,” he said.

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