SGA sends out Student Athletic Fee Survey to current student body

Tech's SGA sent out the following email with survey link yesterday to all current Tech students:

Good afternoon, Bulldogs!

SGA is sending out a survey to gauge what the student body thinks of a student athletic fee. After the Bulldogs won their sixth bowl game in a row, there has been some talk among students of wanting to implement a student athletic fee. If you don’t know what a student athletic fee is, I have provided some information below. The link for the survey will end Tuesday, January 21st at 8 PM.

An athletic fee is common at most universities and serves the purpose of subsidizing the cost of a ticket to sporting events for students, as well as supporting the maintenance and upkeep of facilities that are regularly available to all students either participating as individuals or in University activities. (It goes towards all athletics, not just football.)

There are pros and cons to this fee, as there is to anything. Some pros being: bettering the athletic program and the benefits a better athletic program can lead to (more recognition for Tech, possible increase in enrollment, etc.). Some cons being: another fee students have to pay and no guarantee it’ll better the athletic program.

This is why we need to hear from you- the students.

I like seeing the SGA taking the pulse of Tech students. That said, it would probably be helpful if the athlete department communicated its’ strategic plan, what some of the specific needs are and what it expects to accomplish with the money. I’m not sure that telling a bunch of Freshman and sophomore students that the money will be used “supporting the maintenance and upkeep of facilities” will move the needle. Freshman and sophomore students —along with future students— are the ones who will be paying for this, should any measure be passed and implemented.

Just my 2 cents.

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Originally Posted by HogDawg

I like seeing the SGA taking the pulse of Tech students. That said, it would probably be helpful if the athlete department communicated its’ strategic plan, what some of the specific needs are and what it expects to accomplish with the money. I’m not sure that telling a bunch of Freshman and sophomore students that the money will be used “supporting the maintenance and upkeep of facilities” will move the needle. Freshman and sophomore students —along with future students— are the ones who will be paying for this, should any measure be passed and implemented.

Just my 2 cents.

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Agree wholeheartedly. If you're going to ask for money (and I think an athletic fee is a great idea), you need to be specific about what it will be used for -- and maintenance and upkeep, while obviously essential, needs to come from a more general fund than a student athletic fee. Also showing a comparison with our peer institutions would be beneficial.

Lots of kudos to the SGA for even bringing it up. Hopefully the admin will send out some information about how the student fee would be a HUGE help for athletics and also the university as a whole.

Hope our students can get behind this.

What is a reasonable amount to charge for a student athletic fee?

A timely tweet: https://twitter.com/latechsportsrpt/status/1217536767982784513?s=20

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOWPN2tX...name=1024x1024https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EOWPN2tX...name=4096x4096

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Originally Posted by Dowty

What is a reasonable amount to charge for a student athletic fee?

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I know the chart above shows $0... but somewhere around 1991 to 1992 the I thought the SGA president back then lobbied the students to approve some type of athletic fee that would be added to the cost of attending Louisiana Tech and the student body approved it; therefore, unless it had an expiration date it's already being charged. It may be that the SGA should be lobbying for the students to approve an increase in the fee. Maybe the fee was technically under a different name but I think it was used for athletics??


For Comparison:

One of my children chose to attend LSU BR and here's what the most recent costs were. 16 semester hours, living on campus and meal plan. I don't know which of these fees would be equivalent to an Athletic Fee (probably the Required Activity Fee)? I had one child attend Louisiana Tech and I know there were many similar fee categories but don't remember the dollar amounts. Remember to convert to Quarter system vs. Semester System when comparing.


Spring Semester LSU BR 2020

01/04/2020	Tuition		4,014.55
01/04/2020	Academic Excellence Fee		245.00
01/04/2020	Building Use Fee		48.00
01/04/2020	Residential Housing		4,280.00
01/04/2020	Operational Fee		80.00
01/04/2020	Required Activity Fees		650.45
01/04/2020	Registration Fee		10.00
01/04/2020	Student Excellence Fee		857.00
01/04/2020	Technology Fee		75.00
01/04/2020	12 Tiger Meal		2,092.00

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Originally Posted by Dowty

What is a reasonable amount to charge for a student athletic fee?

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$1000/QUARTER :D - or almost $40,000,000 a year!

At UNT - the fee is $16.25/hour https://sfs.unt.edu/explanation-fees

assuming half students are 9 hours/ half 12 hours - we use 10.5 hour average

12,500 students x 10.5 hours x $16.25 = $2,132,812 / quarter x 3 quarters = $6,400,000 = or increase our budget by 25% (Doesn't include Summer Quarter)

ODU https://odu.edu/tuition-aid/costs-tu.../tuition-rates

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The University term "tuition" refers to a per-credit-hour comprehensive rate that includes payment for instructional programs, academic services and activities, recreational sports, and intercollegiate athletics which includes a student activity fee of

$121.69

per credit hour for Norfolk campus courses,

$100.10

per credit hour for Higher Education Centers, Distance Learning, and online courses not at designated distance learning locations.

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For comparison purposes this is off campus (no dorm nor meals) for Louisiana Tech Fall Qtr 2019...

1319	WEB CHECK PMT 12306	0821		-3,078.00	-3,079.00
2012	UNDG TUITION 12 HR	0904	1,851.00		-1,228.00
2032	UNDG FEES 12 HR	0904	1,594.00		366.00
2690	LAGNIAPPE FEE	0904	30.00		396.00
2642	TECHNOLOGY FEE-12+HR	0904	60.00		456.00
2592	ENERGY SURCHRGE-12HR	0904	80.00		536.00
2630	ENGINEERING/SCIENCES	0904	60.00		596.00
2625	E&S LAB SUPPORT FEE	0904	70.00		666.00
1260	OUTSTANDING STUDENT	0904		-666.00	0.00

The OS scholarship is seriously $666?

Due to our students being used to Tech costing so much less than other schools, I think you have to ease them into it. Maybe present a graduated system to the students. The next 4 years could be $5/credit hour, then 4 years at $10, and so on until you reach $15-18/ credit hour.

When I was there, in early 2000’s, parking was $28 for the year. I forget what the bump was, but when it happened, some folks went ballistic.

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Originally Posted by Blue Dawg

The OS scholarship is seriously $666?

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$2000/year x 4 years was the going rate when awarded in 2016. Not sure what it is currently.

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Originally Posted by sportdawg

$1000/QUARTER :D - or almost $40,000,000 a year!

At UNT - the fee is $16.25/hour https://sfs.unt.edu/explanation-fees

assuming half students are 9 hours/ half 12 hours - we use 10.5 hour average

12,500 students x 10.5 hours x $16.25 = $2,132,812 / quarter x 3 quarters = $6,400,000 = or increase our budget by 25% (Doesn't include Summer Quarter)

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Just over $500/year is not bad. You can make up a lot of that cost by attending athletic events throughout the year without having to purchase a ticket. I wouldn't have had a problem with that as a student.

What the SGA should do during this process is tell Tommy that they aren't going to increase his budget by 25% unless he does more on his end to enhance the experience for students.