On Campus Blog

St. Cloud State prepares to vote on athletics fee hike

They can't all be like Georgia State University.

As the St. Cloud Times reports, on Monday St. Cloud State University students will begin voting on whether to raise fees to help plug a budget hole and save some of the university's athletics programs.

Passing both measures could raise $600,000 a year and increase their per-credit student fee by up to $1.74 to help athletics. The fee would be applied up to 12 credits and would be collected for only three years.

University President Earl H. Potter III has been pondering proposals to cut various sports to save money. One idea was to cut football, but the Times reports:

... That plan hit a bump when the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference last month reaffirmed a requirement that member schools sponsor football.

Potter said he's almost done drafting a plan to cut $200,000 from athletic administration.

But not all students are pleased.

The referendum “feels like a bailout,” said Sen. Michael “Punch” Jamnick.

Read the whole story here.