Ohio U's $27M athletics budget subsidized by $16M in student general fees - David DeWitt, Athens News

Ohio University students pay more than $850 each in general fees every year to subsidize Bobcat athletics. The only university in Ohio to turn a profit on its intercollegiate athletics (ICA) program is Ohio State. Every other university in the state subsidizes its ICA program with student fees collected as part of tuition. OU's $27.3 million ICA program is subsidized with $16.05 million in student fees. Over a four-year period, an OU student will pay more than $3,400 in general fees to help fund OU's athletics program, regardless of whether she attends sporting events or participates in any way. ICA represents 34 percent of the spending of the student general fee collected with tuition. When indirect fees are added in, the cost per student goes over $1,000 per year, or over $4,000 in four years. Meanwhile, student loan debt in America has surpassed credit card debt and now stands at $1.2 trillion nationwide. http://www.athensnews.com/ohio/article-44927-ous-$27m-athletics-budget-subsidized-by-$16m-in-student-general-fees.html