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The Student Fee Scam

UD‘s pal Dave Ridpath talks about it.

By far, the largest student fee is … the intercollegiate athletic fee – which can be upwards of 80% of the total fee amount at many institutions not in Power Five conferences.

Conventional wisdom says that intercollegiate athletics is a boon to colleges and universities; that it’s wildly profitable; attracts new students; enhances fundraising; and boosts the university’s profile. Yet these are myths…

… [S]tudents [are] largely unaware of these fee amounts, and how much [of the fee is] allocated for intercollegiate athletics.

The athletic fee wasn’t obvious (in fact, it wasn’t even itemized) on university bills. Furthermore, getting the exact number from MAC institutions proved exasperating.

Considering the total fees assessed to fund athletics at [Mid American conference] institutions, it’s clear why schools weren’t exactly transparent about the fee. Once the actual fee amount was detailed to the surveyed population of students, over 90% were either against the athletic fee or wanted it substantially lowered.

Margaret Soltan, December 13, 2014 8:56AM
Posted in: sport

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One Response to “The Student Fee Scam”

  1. Stephen Karlson Says:

    Yes, the Mid-American athletics programs are masters at extracting student fee money from students often too busy to attend games, and if they have sports loyalties, to the professional (Packers, Bears, Lions, Colts, Browns) or flagship (Illini, Hoosiers, Spartans, Buckeyes) teams of their home states. But that doesn’t stop the mid-majors, including the Mid-American and Conference USA, from proliferating bowls in order that all six-win teams get additional practice time. Start here: http://coldspringshops.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-power-five-bowl-game.html and follow the back story in the links.

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