ASU To Charge Students Mandatory Athletic Fee In Fall Semester

By Alejandra Guillen
Published: Wednesday, August 13, 2014 - 6:12pm
Updated: Thursday, August 14, 2014 - 1:43pm
(Photo courtesy of Arizona State University)
Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.

Starting this fall, Arizona State University students will be charged a mandatory $150 athletic fee, which will give them access to all of ASU’s home games.

ASU’s new athletic fee was proposed in November by student body representatives from all four campuses. Students will see charges of $75 per semester on their account starting this fall.

Unlike past years when students were able to purchase tickets and choose their seats online, tickets to the student section will now be distributed at Wells Fargo Arena on a first-come, first-serve basis about five hours before the game.

ASU senior Dan Miller has attended most basketball and football games for the past three years with a student season pass. He said this fee will cost him about the same as a season pass, but is worried about not having a guaranteed seat in the stadium.

 “As much as I’m looking forward to attending football games with friends of mine who in the past haven’t had football tickets, I’m a little concerned that people who didn’t really want to go to the game before might say ‘oh, well I have tickets. So let me just go,’ and it’s going to knock out the people who really want to be there," Miller said.

Student Body President for the West Campus Howard Waldie IV said although reservations are not available, the student section takes up about 25 percent of the stadium, which provides plenty of seating for students. And while it is being called an athletic fee, Waldie said the fee will provide over $10 million for university services.

“Such as weekend shuttles, test-prep courses for graduate programs, new technology such as additional printing services, increased pay for grad students," Waldie said. "So while they’re paying an ‘athletics fee,’ they are getting a lot of benefits and additional services that we’ve never had as a university before.”

But not all students support the fee. Senior Tim Schodt fears the new fee may be a disincentive for the athletics department.

“This is the pessimistic view, but if I’m already paying for something, then they don’t have to put effort into making a better product for the students," Schodt said. "I mean, that’s not to say that they won’t, but there’s no incentive for them. They already have all of our money.”

ASU's first home game of the season is Aug. 28 against Weber State.