Proposed Bill could leave ODU's FBS status in question

[NT03]

http://hamptonroads.com/2015/01/bill-could-force-odu-withdraw-conference-usa

[greenit]

Kind of puts building a huge reliance on student fees in perspective.

[oldguystudent]

ODU charges $9,225 in tuition and fees, including $1,429 per student in athletics fees.

Whatever the motivations behind this bill, that's a really f'ing steep student fee for athletics. I'll venture to guess that's more than most alumni are paying for their donations and season tickets, and that isn't right.

Edit: From the ODU athletic website on season tickets:

Football season tickets are priced at $170 for six home games.

So the reality of their situation is, from the student's eyes, "Oh man, I can't wait until I graduate! Football will be so much cheaper!"

Edited January 15, 2015 by oldguystudent

[UNT90]

The students should know what the tuition and fees are going in. I'm quite sure they are told.

If they don't like it, they can go somewhere else.

Edited January 15, 2015 by UNT90

[Aldo]

The students should know what the tuition and fees are going in. I'm quite sure they are told.

If they don't like it, they can go somewhere else.

Academics comes first for students and student athletes.

$1,429 seems egregious to me (and a little lazy). They have 24K students, with $180 million in endowments, according to wikipedia. (UNT at $124 million). I wonder how that tuition compares to other schools in the same price range.

Makes me wonder about their AD...

Edited January 15, 2015 by Aldo

[untjim1995]

Here's the thing about these fees for athletics--the free market will dictate if that is going to hold or if they will have to do something different. If ODU sees a massive transfer of students out, then they will have to changetheir policy. BUt if they don't, then that's on the students.

ODU is looking at this the way I think a lot of schools do--if we win in football or basketball, the amount of money that comes in through alumni donations will be huge.

I really have no problem with their tact--its the polar opposite of ours, but their university is placing a huge amount of investment on the student body to make this a national window into their school. Time will tell if it will work or if the student body will leave them behind. Of course, the VA legislature is full of Cavs and Hokies, so this might be a nice way to weaken a good size football school in a fairly large state before it gets any traction.

[Mean Green 93-98]

This doesn't sound like this will force ODU out anytime soon . . .

. . . the bill stipulates that the university would not be subject to the cap until 2020 and then would have five years to comply.

So theoretically, ODU could ramp up the student fee even more, build top-notch facilities in the next 5 years, and then gradually begin trimming back their student fee into compliance.

Considering their excellent attendance, I think by 2025 they could have built up an FBS program that could easily sustain itself with only 20% funding from student fees.

[VideoEagle]

The second paragraph of the article reads that the bill's author doesn't intend it to force ODU to drop down and he doesn't want them to drop down.

However, Del. Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights, said that’s not the intent of HB1897, and he doesn’t believe it would force ODU to move down.