Texas San Antonio Students Vote Against Athletic Fee

[Coach Bill Lewis]

Very disappointing news today.

Athletics Fee Voting Results

For – 1,439 or 23.3%
Against – 4,734 or 76.7%

Transportation Fee Voting Results

For – 1,857 or 30.1%
Against – 4,316 or 69.9%

"The fee increase was requested to enhance the students’ experience at UTSA sporting events, support recruiting student-athletes, maintain and upgrade athletic facilities, upgrade video equipment and expand staff to televise programs at Conference USA standards, and hire and retain athletic managers and trainers to support student well-being."

Some are holding our faculty partly to blame, as some faculty had "Vote No" signs in their departments. Convenient that students don't get to vote on tuition hikes, salaries, lab fees, etc.

http://www.utsa.edu/today/2018/02/story/FeeVote.html

 

[emmitt01]

The kids were probably trying to save money for college

[Rudy]

53 minutes ago, emmitt01 said:

The kids were probably trying to save money for college

It's hard on a deep fryer's salary.

[ADLER]

Quote

The current Athletics Fee is $20/semester credit hour with a cap at 12 hours, or $240, which is 27 percent lower than the Conference USA average.

That low Conference USA average is driven down by UNT's paltry current $10/semester hour fee.

It's ironic, UNT's competition, which already has double the student contribution of UNT's students, states that it needs to have an increase just to keep up with the CUSA student contribution average so it can remain competitive. Meanwhile the subversive elements at North Texas will be profiled as conscientious objectors as they attempt to undermine the best interests of the university by opposing any increases.

[MrStrange18]

This is bad news. We want all CUSA schools (especially schools in Texas) to keep trying to be better.  The students at UTSA just made it really tough on their AD to keep momentum.  

 

[wardly]

12 hours ago, ADLER said:

That low Conference USA average is driven down by UNT's paltry current $10/semester hour fee.

It's ironic, UNT's competition, which already has double the student contribution of UNT's students, states that it needs to have an increase just to keep up with the CUSA student contribution average so it can remain competitive. Meanwhile the subversive elements at North Texas will be profiled as conscientious objectors as they attempt to undermine the best interests of the university by opposing any increases.

"Undermine the best interest of the university " seems akin to calling Democrats actions treasonous for not kissing the ring of the president. To me the question is whether or not athletics at UNT is for the students or alumni. At present that seems a moot point, as we alumni have a very low level of financial support compared to our peers , and the students have not given near the attendance one would expect of a university of 40,000. So, are we saying that the students don't care enough and the alumni can't afford to support our athletic program? Back to my original question: who is the athletic program for, because whoever it is should bear the brunt of funding . Just an old man's opinion.

[GrandGreen]

17 hours ago, ADLER said:

That low Conference USA average is driven down by UNT's paltry current $10/semester hour fee.

It's ironic, UNT's competition, which already has double the student contribution of UNT's students, states that it needs to have an increase just to keep up with the CUSA student contribution average so it can remain competitive. Meanwhile the subversive elements at North Texas will be profiled as conscientious objectors as they attempt to undermine the best interests of the university by opposing any increases.

Paltry, $300 a year for students who are the most part far from ardent fans.   If NT gets a third of them to a football game or 5% to a basketball game it is deemed a great accomplishment.  

Calling someone subversive because they are not sports fans and oppose paying fees that in their view are unnecessary is way out there. 

 

Edited February 9, 2018 by GrandGreen

[GrayEagle]

While I agree that tuition costs and fees are the responsibility of the Board of Regents (or equivalent) the student's voice should be heard.

In this case they have spoken to what is essential mismanagement.  UTSA's annual cost is already higher than UNT's and they pay higher athletic fees with far less facilities.  They have no stadium that they are paying for and  they did (and I believe still do) have to bus their football team to a practice facility.  I have no information on the amount they pay to rent the Alamodome but if it's a major part of their annual costs for six times a year then they should renegotiate.  

Maybe if the UTSA administration had explained the need to the degree that UNT is doing then they might have gotten different results.  Except for being in the same conference this is still largely apples and oranges.

[oldguystudent]

28 minutes ago, GrayEagle said:

While I agree that tuition costs and fees are the responsibility of the Board of Regents (or equivalent) the student's voice should be heard.

In this case they have spoken to what is essential mismanagement.  UTSA's annual cost is already higher than UNT's and they pay higher athletic fees with far less facilities.  They have no stadium that they are paying for and  they did (and I believe still do) have to bus their football team to a practice facility.  I have no information on the amount they pay to rent the Alamodome but if it's a major part of their annual costs for six times a year then they should renegotiate.  

Maybe if the UTSA administration had explained the need to the degree that UNT is doing then they might have gotten different results.  Except for being in the same conference this is still largely apples and oranges.

They don't have their own baseball stadium either.  They use the San Antonio Missons AA stadium. 

They do have a 4,800 seat basketball/volleyball joint though.  Bow to its majesty. 

[Ben Gooding]

3 minutes ago, oldguystudent said:

They don't have their own baseball stadium either.  They use the San Antonio Missons AA stadium. 

They do have a 4,800 seat basketball/volleyball joint though.  Bow to its majesty. 

Not to praise The Pit or anything at all, but I have literally been in nicer and more aesthetic high school gyms. 

[Rudy]

7 hours ago, MrStrange18 said:

This is bad news. We want all CUSA schools (especially schools in Texas) to keep trying to be better.  The students at UTSA just made it really tough on their AD to keep momentum.  

 

No, f*** em. 

[GMG_Dallas]

2 hours ago, Ben Gooding said:

Not to praise The Pit or anything at all, but I have literally been in nicer and more aesthetic high school gyms. 

Almost looks like a practice gym with bleachers...

[oldguystudent]

1 minute ago, GMG_Dallas said:

Almost looks like a practice gym with bleachers...

It honestly reminds me of the gym my undergrad school used to play in...in the 70s...when they were division II...that by the nineties was pretty much only used for intramurals.  

I've never been in the snake pit, but I imagine it's similar. 

[UNTLifer]

Looks exactly like the facility at D2......UT of the Permian Basin.

[Mo Green]

19 hours ago, oldguystudent said:

It honestly reminds me of the gym my undergrad school used to play in...in the 70s...when they were division II...that by the nineties was pretty much only used for intramurals.  

I've never been in the snake pit, but I imagine it's similar. 

The " snake Pit" had bleachers under the basket. Friends told me to go early to the game once to get a seat there. They would catch our players & use their feet/knees to catch the visitors! Real fun- made a believer out of me!

[CMJ]

No college basketball arena will ever be as bad as CSUN's though.

[diehardUNTfan]

On 2/9/2018 at 2:46 PM, Ben Gooding said:

Not to praise The Pit or anything at all, but I have literally been in nicer and more aesthetic high school gyms. 

Prosper high schools gym is the nicest in texas imo.

[diehardUNTfan]

2 hours ago, CMJ said:

No college basketball arena will ever be as bad as CSUN's though.

Houston Baptist is far worse.

[oldguystudent]

2 hours ago, CMJ said:

No college basketball arena will ever be as bad as CSUN's though.

I don't think any D1 school in California cares less about their athletic department than Northridge does.  They did win the conference tournament and went dancing back around 2003ish.  I can't remember that they've been even remotely relevant even within the lowly Big West since. 

[CMJ]

13 minutes ago, oldguystudent said:

I don't think any D1 school in California cares less about their athletic department than Northridge does.  They did win the conference tournament and went dancing back around 2003ish.  I can't remember that they've been even remotely relevant even within the lowly Big West since. 

I think it was more about ten years ago.  They gave Memphis a tough game in the Dance.  I believe they led most of the 2nd half, before the Tigers put them away.

Edited February 11, 2018 by CMJ

[GrandGreen]

On 2/9/2018 at 4:55 PM, oldguystudent said:

It honestly reminds me of the gym my undergrad school used to play in...in the 70s...when they were division II...that by the nineties was pretty much only used for intramurals.  

I've never been in the snake pit, but I imagine it's similar. 

UTSA's looks super compared to the old Snake Pit.   The Snake Pit had wooden bleachers that were about as uncomfortable as possible.  The bleachers went all the way down to courtside 3 or 4 feet from the playing court, so it was loud and rough for opposing teams.   Most of the games were completely filled and it was as loud as any event I have witnessed.  

[UNTLifer]

2 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

UTSA's looks super compared to the old Snake Pit.   The Snake Pit had wooden bleachers that were about as uncomfortable as possible.  The bleachers went all the way down to courtside 3 or 4 feet from the playing court, so it was loud and rough for opposing teams.   Most of the games were completely filled and it was as loud as any event I have witnessed.  

All that and a blast to attend. The Pit is nice but I miss the old atmosphere. 

[Stix]

21 hours ago, diehardUNTfan said:

Houston Baptist is far worse.

Never been to CSUN, but yes, HBU is bad - I've gone to an NT game there once or twice. 

But probably not for much longer: https://www.hbu.edu/about-hbu/the-campus/the-future-of-hbus-campus/

A generous gift from Mary Ann Belin, a lifelong friend of HBU, allows the University to move forward with redevelopment of its commercial property along the Southwest Freeway between the Bradshaw Fitness Center and Fondren Street. The Campus Edge project – a public-private partnership supported by the city of Houston – includes a dramatic front entrance, named in memory of Belin’s late husband and former HBU trustee Bruce Belin, directly from the frontage road into the campus

and a multi-purpose arena. In addition to providing much-needed space for growth, the transformational project also makes HBU more visible and accessible to the more than 250,000 vehicles that pass by on the freeway each day.

[oldguystudent]

20 hours ago, CMJ said:

I think it was more about ten years ago.  They gave Memphis a tough game in the Dance.  I believe they led most of the 2nd half, before the Tigers put them away.

We were both kinda right.  They won the Big Sky tournament in 2001.  While I was a Big West alum, I was aware of it because local LA radio at the time made a BIG deal if one of the smaller area schools accomplished something like that.  Hell, they did a segment on the University of San Diego winning so many games in its non-scholarship no-playoff bid FCS league.  LA radio cared about everybody. (RIP Joe McDonnell)

I actually have no memory of the 2009 Big West win.  My school was so gawdawful at the time that I'd more or less stopped paying attention altogether. 

[jacksondf]

On 2/8/2018 at 8:50 PM, emmitt01 said:

The kids were probably trying to save money for college

If I'm reading it right, they voted not to increase it from $240/semester.  If I'm a college kid who probably makes around $8/hour,  I would have voted against it too.