| Athletics Director Lynn Hickey talks to the media following Thursday's announcement. |
SAN ANTONIO ? Students at The University of Texas at San Antonio learned Thursday that a referendum to support expansion of the school’s athletics program passed with 3,031 students voting for and 1,571 against. The students’ endorsement of increased fees includes support for the eventual addition of a football program at the city’s only Division I athletics program. The percentage breakdown for the 4,602 votes cast is 65.9 percent for and 34.1 percent against.
“UTSA students have spoken, and this vote endorses their dream to take the athletics program at the University to the next level,” said Gage Paine, UTSA’s vice president for student affairs.
“With this vote students demonstrate once again that they support the expansion of student life activities at the University,” Paine added. “During the last five years, students at UTSA have supported the expansion of the University Center, the Recreation ? Wellness Center, parking facilities and additional on-campus housing.”
Students voted Sept. 11 and 12 during an online election sponsored by the University’s Student Government Association (SGA). The student referendum authorizes athletic fees to increase from a maximum of $120 per semester to a maximum of $240.
The increases, if approved by UTSA administration and the University of Texas System Board of Regents, would provide additional support for all of UTSA’s existing 16 Division I sports programs.
UTSA is an NCAA Division I member institution that sponsors 16 sports: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s golf, women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field and volleyball. Since 1991, UTSA has been a member of the Southland Conference, which encompasses 12 member schools in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.
The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the fastest growing higher education institutions in Texas and the second largest of nine academic universities and six health institutions in the UT System. As a multicultural institution of access and excellence, UTSA aims to be a premier public research university providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
UTSA serves 28,688 (preliminary fall 2007 number) students in 63 bachelor’s, 43 master’s and 20 doctoral degree programs in the colleges of Architecture, Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Honors, Liberal and Fine Arts, Public Policy, Sciences and Graduate School. Founded in 1969, UTSA is an intellectual and creative resource center and a socioeconomic development catalyst for Texas and beyond.
Addendum ? UTSA Athletics Fee Increase
Does this mean football?
Students voted to support their vision of taking UTSA’s athletic program to the next level. This opens the door for the addition of a Division 1 football program ? but this is only the first step.
Now it’s time for UTSA to see if there is sufficient financial support in the community to help support a football program because student fees alone will not generate enough revenue to cover the costs associated with adding football.
Because state law prohibits UTSA from using tuition dollars or state appropriations for athletics, football at UTSA must be a partnership between student fees and private donations.
When could UTSA possibly have a football team?
The best case timeline published in the recent football feasibility study has UTSA playing its first game three years after UTSA has made the decision to begin a football program.
First, we have to get this referendum vote to increase students’ athletics fees approved by the UT System Board of Regents. This request has not yet been scheduled.
Secondly, we will work with students to develop a plan on how best to implement the increased athletic fee
Thirdly, the University will immediately gauge what amount of financial support actually exists in the community to support expanded athletics programs and a Division I football team.
When all of this comes together, at that point UTSA will decide to add a football program and the clock begins ticking on the best case scenario of “three years from now.”