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USF Trustees Support Tampa Fee Hike Amid Inequity Concerns

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By ADAM EMERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 16, 2008

TAMPA - University of South Florida trustees gave preliminary approval today to a plan that would raise the fees students at the Tampa campus pay to support athletics.

But the university's second highest executive said Tampa students may be bankrolling an unfair share of the cost.

Students at USF's St. Petersburg campus, for instance, pay one-fifth the athletic fees as their counterparts in Tampa, but those students have the same free access to sports events, such as football games, Provost Ralph Wilcox said.

A student taking 15 credit hours a semester in Tampa pays about $182 in athletics fees, and trustees gave an early nod to raise those costs by $4.

But that same student in St. Petersburg pays just $39, Wilcox said, and the costs are similar at campuses in Sarasota and Lakeland.

It's only fair to ask students to pay a greater share of athletics at the regional campuses, considering they get the same perks as a student in Tampa, Wilcox said.

The extra money also would help an athletics department that is "underinvested," Wilcox said.

"We have issues in equity," he said. "There's something wrong here."

Trustees said they would discuss those concerns at a future meeting.

Reporter Adam Emerson can be reached at (813) 259-8285.

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