Athletics seeks fee increase for new baseball team

November 4, 2009
By Laurel Bollinger
Public Affairs Reporter

Athletics Department administrators are looking to secure funding for the university's new baseball team, asking for a 13 percent increase of the student fee.

At the last Student Government Association meeting, several on campus department heads asked for increases in student fees. Athletics Director Rodger Jehlicka was among those in attendance and asked for a $17 increase in the student athletic fee.  The fee would aid the new NCAA baseball team.

When the UIS SGA Facebook page posted the question, “Would you support an increase in the Athletics fee to pay for the new Baseball Team,” senators and executive board members began a heated discussion.

Matt Van Vossen

Braxton Denton

SGA President Matt Van Vossen supports the athletic fee increase as a benefit to the students and points to it as a sign of a growing university.

“I believe that a new baseball team will benefit the student body in numerous ways, besides from the obvious of having more athletic events open to students and for the athletes themselves,” he said. “As UIS's reputation grows among Illinois universities, students will not have to explain any longer that ‘yes, there is a U of I in Springfield.’"

Athletics isn't the only way for UIS to grow its on-campus population and reputation, however it is currently the only option on the table.

However, other SGA members oppose the increase. Senator for Public Affairs and Administration Ryan Melchin is concerned about the amount of the increase. 

“I think an additional $17 per student is a substantial amount of money to be asking for,” Melchin said. 

Instead, he would like to see the team look into other forms of support. 

“I am not opposed to a fee of some kind to support the baseball team,” he said, “I would like to see a combination approach of student fees and outside donors, both shouldering the burden.”

Also against the fee increase is Senator-at-Large Braxton Denton.  “As a student who pays for his education and has to budget his money, it is hard to understand why the administration is proposing yet another ‘unplanned’ increase in the sports fee.”

Denton said he also for a baseball team at UIS, but it frustrates him that they can’t figure out another way of getting funding rather than raising student fees.

He also fears that this could be a slippery slope with UIS focusing more on athletics rather than academics “I think we need to stay focused on academics, and try to concentrate on slowly filtering in sports at a rate that is healthy for this school as a whole,” he said.

The SGA will vote on the athletics fee increase and other fee increases at its next meeting on Nov. 8. If approved the increases would take effect starting Fall 2010.