Hidden Athletic Fees in College Tuition

[12rmh18]

<p>Today’s Washington Post has an interesting article about [athletic</a> fees](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/24/AR2010102403002.html?hpid=newswell]athletic”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/24/AR2010102403002.html?hpid=newswell) hidden within the tuition fees of Maryland and Virginia colleges.

@Washington Post

Athletic fees are a large - and occasionally hidden - cost of public higher education in Virginia and Maryland. The athletic fee is the largest single item charged to undergraduate students at many Maryland and Virginia public universities, apart from tuition, according to figures from state education agencies. Fees at some Virginia schools rank among the highest in the nation. And some families might not realize they are paying them.

</p>

<p>The post article cites a national [USA</a> Today study](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2010-09-21-athletic-fees-chart_N.htm][u]USA”>http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2010-09-21-athletic-fees-chart_N.htm) which analyzes “The amounts students at various NCAA Division I colleges and universities each will pay during the 2010-11 school year as a fee assessed, and restricted, for support of intercollegiate athletics — and the total amounts undergraduates are paying in base tuition and mandatory fees.”</p>

<p>And here I thought my tuition dollars were paying for education. </p>

<p>Since I am supporting college athletics as an unwitting “athletic booster,” I wonder if that portion of the tuition payment could be considered a tax deduction?</p>

[gadad]

<p>I think the author has the concept backwards. All schools which have athletics (and that’s virtually all schools) charge fees to fund them. These schools aren’t “hiding” their athletic fees - quite the contrary. They’re building them into the published tuition rate so that their families can see what the full cost of attendance is. Most schools have separate fees in addition to tuition which can come as a surprise to students who don’t research the full cost of attendance before enrolling.</p>