UCAFANS.COM | GO UCA BEARS!

After reading an online article about how UCA is now $12 million in the black and now able to give professors their much deserved bonuses, I noticed that some people commented that the athletic fee was too high. As an avid Bear fan, I wanted to find out if this were true. Here's what I've come up with.

$289 athletic fee gets a student:
(note: as of 8/6/2012; schedules can change and ADD games or schedules for some sports have not been updated yet so ADD more home games to those)

With a mere swipe of a student I.D. card and nothing else:

6 football home games
27 baseball home games
15 mens basketball home games
6 soccer home games
1 home track event
11 women's basketball home games
16 volleyball home games
11 tennis home games
8 women's soccer home games
13 softball home games
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114 listed home games in 10 sports!

That totals $2.54 per game and that doesn't include games not listed on schedules yet.

Plus if you add in the fact that some sports have multiple "games" in a day AND students get to be involved in the student led activities sometimes during halftimes and get to hear the BMB and the giveaways and prizes...the cost is incredibly small!

The move to division I came with a cost. But along with that cost comes playing teams like Alabama, Texas, Hawaii, and numerous other schools known to be division I powerhouses in many sports. In the overall picture, $289 is a great price to pay to get all that!

I can appreciate students who are not sports fans not being excited about buying tickets (in effect) for games they will not go to. It will be a great day in UCA's history when we have Estes and Farris Center filled every game at about $30 per ticket and PCC is raising 2-3 times as much. Then students will stand in line all day for limited student tickets (and then stand in endzone) or pay full freight like many big programs. Then UCA will be criticized for not providing better seats for its students.

If I were a guy on campus I would see these as very cheap dates and basically free music concerts thanks to our excellent BMB and Purple Rage.

That is a bargain. Schools in other states charge far more than schools in Arkansas.

I look at it like this. You may not attend games but all of your tuitiont isn't going to classes, professors or services that you personally use. It isn't "a la carte". The University needs to pay for the classes and services that might not be as utilized but are necessary when providing the college experience and atmosphere. It's an all-inclusive deal.

Also, if more students would step up and support their alma mater after they graduate then student fees wouldn't be as needed. You can pay now, later or both as you should.

Alright..I looked up athletic fees with a simple search and found an article that lists athletic fees for many schools:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2010-09-21-athletic-fees-chart_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

2011:
Arkansas State: $288
UAPB: $427
Memphis $450
Stony Brook $478
North Carolina A&T $532

and numerous ones on that list that are much greater than UCAs! Some schools do not charge an athletic fee but there is a catch. For example, uaf charges students an $85 program fee that allows them to purchase tickets at $10 each for certain games BUT once a small allotment of tickets runs out...so does their luck! Nice problem to have but we don't have a 70 thousand plus seat stadium that sells like they do. If students choose not to attend games, then how will they ever "bond" with the university? Successful students are those that not only go to class but get involved in various community functions...right Mr. Astin?