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From: The Raleigh News and Observer
Date: 23 Feb 2005
Time: 21:51:23 -0500
Remote Name: 68.221.234.239
UNC schools seek higher athletics fees UNCP even asks for football team By JANE STANCILL, Staff Writer UNC-Pembroke has a lofty goal: goalposts. The 5,000-student campus in Robeson County wants to start a football program, and it's a costly endeavor. The campus wants a $140 increase in its annual student athletics fee, which would climb to $511 per student. UNC-P is one of seven campuses that has asked for larger-than-usual increases in fees that support sports programs. Those requests face tough scrutiny from the UNC Board of Governors, which has already frozen tuition for in-state undergraduates for the 2005-06 academic year. The board will consider fees in March. UNCP Chancellor Allen C. Meadors said the fee increase was not his idea. He said a student survey showed 91 percent of respondents wanted a football program and 70 percent said they would pay for it. "This is the most unusual story I've ever been associated with," Meadors told the Board of Governors earlier this month. Football at Pembroke would cost about $1 million to get started, then $700,000 to $800,000 a year to operate, Meadors said. Others who want the hikes have ambitions for a whole new level of athletics. Winston-Salem State University wants to move from Division II to Division I in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. N.C. Central University is studying a similar move. WSSU wants an $80 increase; NCCU wants a $25 hike. East Carolina University Chancellor Steve C. Ballard said his school wants a $50 increase to create more scholarships for women, to comply with the Title IX federal law. Small campuses generally have higher student athletics fees because their sports programs don't have TV revenue or profits from selling tickets. Current athletics fees in the UNC system range from $94 at N.C. State to $483 at UNC-Asheville. The N.C. School of the Arts in Winston-Salem has no athletics fee because it doesn't offer sports. There is skepticism about Pembroke's plan. When Meadors presented the idea, some UNC board members questioned campus priorities and the proposed 38 percent fee increase. "Wow," commented Peter Hans, a board member from Raleigh. "That's a lot of money." Staff writer Jane Stancill can be reached at 956-2464 or janes@newsobserver.com. Copyright - Raleigh News and Observer