In September, the Utah office of the State Auditor unveiled its findings related to athletic department revenue subsidization for colleges throughout the state. This type of deep dive investigation brings an interesting debate into question. It is to be expected that taxpayers and students are in some way contributing to an athletic department’s ability to function and thrive. The crux of the topic becomes, how much subsidization is enough, and is the taxpaying/tuition paying population interested in having their money fund a high percentage of its revenue stream?
There are a couple of different ways to look at it. Students who are talented and academically eligible can benefit from a higher level of funding through these channels; their merit on the field and in the classroom gives them that benefit. But what about students who aren’t interested in sports, and want to build a career in academia? Should they have to contribute funds to an area of the institution they might not care about?
Utah State Auditor John Dougall’s office recently analyzed the amount of fees that a Utah college student pays that go toward athletic programs, and found that the average totals nearly $742 per student, per year.https://t.co/8KnI5735pX
— KUTV2news (@KUTV2News) 5Etfw">September 17, 2021
According to the study, a college student in Utah pays $742 per year on average that finds its way towards their school’s athletic department. Additionally, in 2020, about 43