Students say ‘No’ to sports costs
June 16, 2009 by Geneva ReidPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Student Life
With college students facing increased tuition costs – as well as the rising expense of texts and supplies – many are saying “Enough!” when it comes to paying for varsity sports.
Many colleges across the country have had to increase fees lately to pay for their varsity sports.
Yet students attending the University of New Orleans, as well as Sacramento State, Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton in California, have given the thumbs down on higher athletic fees.
A report in The New York Times points to two factors these schools have in common:
- They are considered commuter colleges – where students are typically less interested in sports.
- They either don’t have a football team (the sport bringing in the most money) or they don’t compete in a major football conference.
At colleges such as North Texas and Utah State, where these conditions don’t exist, students have agreed to pay increased fees.
If the trend continues to gain strength, could college sports programs be in trouble?
Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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Tags: Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, North Texas, Sacramento State, University of New Orleans, Utah State
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June 17th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
It’s about time! Sports have been perverting the purpose of colleges for too long. Apparently, just ruining a school’s reputation with athletes that can’t graduate, siphoning off money from academics, and making college about anything but learning, was not enough. But when they demand even more money in bad times, I’m glad to see some will finally stand up to them.
Don’t get me wrong and attack me for the wrong reasons, now. I am fully in support of students having an athletic outlet. Plenty of student athletes are great students. It’s when a football program gets way more money than it should and let’s in “students” who can’t do the work and do little more than cause continuous lawsuits and arrests that I get angry. You wanna play? Join a pickup game, or an intramural league. You’re really good? Go pro. But stop using space and money on campus that should be going to academics.
June 30th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Over the past 50 years I have watched as universities unwittingly became “farm teams” for pro sports. I’ve seen all the arguments about how sports, especially football, really turn a profit. Nonsense. Typically students supplement that “profit” by $100 or more each per semester. Meanwhile the “student athlete” is exploited in that far too often he/she (football players especially) (1) don’t ever get the degree they were assured they would and (2) sadly find that they weren’t professional talent but were only marginally capable of university level play. And from the front of the classroom frustration grows as far too many who are not prepared for university-level work drag down the rest of the class.
It’s about time someone wised up!
August 5th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Most of the athletes are not there for the education anyway. They are all going to be professional athletes and make millions. And it is not the universities or the coaches responsibilty to educate them,that is the students responsibilty. Coaches are hired to do one thing and that is to win games.
And I don’t the non athletic students should be forced be subsidize any sport or athletic program let the alumni do it if they think it that important.