N.C. State athletic officials presented their case to students Wednesday for raising the school's student fees for athletic operational costs in a meeting at the campus recreation building.
Athletic director Debbie Yow said her department is proposing a $33 increase that would raise the fee to $192.50 per year. N.C. State's current student athletic fee of $159.50 ranks seventh among the eight ACC public schools, ahead of only Clemson's, according to data N.C. State has compiled.
Yow is seeking ways to increase N.C. State's per-sport expenditures. A compilation of 2008-09 data provided by schools on their federal Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act forms shows N.C. State ranked 11th in the ACC in per-sport spending at $2,289,818 per sport.
N.C. State's student athletic fee is the lowest in the UNC system. The University of North Carolina's is next to last at $271 a year. East Carolina's is $526 a year, according to UNC system records.
Nonetheless, N.C. State student body president Kelly Hook is wary of any fee increase.
"I understand the importance of athletics and how athletics is the front porch to our university," Hook said, "but at the same time, in lieu of last year's $900 tuition increase and in light of what will inevitably be a tuition increase this year, I am uncomfortable with any fee increases at all."
In a meeting with The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer staff members Wednesday, Yow explained the economic pressures the athletic department is facing. Yow would like N.C. State's per-sport spending to reach the ACC average, which was $2,625,809 in 2008-09.
The athletic department would have to add more than $7 million to the overall budget to do that. Yow said the ACC's new television contract, which takes effect in 2010-11, will add a "badly needed" $3.9 million to the school's athletic budget, with an escalation of 4 percent each year afterward.
But the other ACC schools will receive the same boost in TV revenue. Yow said additional revenue for N.C. State in the future could come from football, basketball and baseball tickets; apparel licensing; multi-media rights, and student fees.
She was asked if she was squeamish about asking for more money from students in a difficult economy.
"Sure, absolutely, no question," she said.
Yow said N.C. State also is going to offer the studentbody more tickets for football (750) and men's basketball (1,000) as it asks students for more money. Yow said Chancellor Randy Woodson eventually would make a recommendation to the school's board of trustees on the issue.
Despite the athletic department's financial difficulties, Yow said she doesn't foresee dropping any sports. An announcement Tuesday that California is dropping five varsity sports sent shock waves through college athletics.
That's not something N.C. State is considering, according to Yow, but she also doesn't foresee adding sports. She said she has heard from numerous fans interested in adding men's lacrosse in part because of Maryland's success in that sport during her tenure there.
"With the per-sport expenditure, we need to do a much better job of taking care of what we have, the current student-athletes, instead of adding," Yow said.
Yow said that her predecessor, Lee Fowler, left the school's athletic facilities in good shape but that an estimated $38 million in additional facilities improvements still need to be made.
After $120 million in building during Fowler's tenure, though, Yow said she is wary of "donor fatigue" among Wolfpack donors who have been asked to give a lot. So she will use a targeted donation approach.
For example, she said the N.C. State tennis program needs two additional courts. Yow envisions asking the school's tennis alumni to donate toward an improvement that would add two courts.
But Wolfpack Club members aren't the only ones suffering from financial fatigue. N.C. State students' tuition rose from $3,953 in 2009-10 to $4,853 in 2010-11.
Hook said she understands the value of athletics but said students are stretched financially.
"While I appreciate and respect where they're coming from, speaking for all students, we're all a little uncomfortable with a fee increase," Hook said.
