Herbert offers fee substitutions

Students, administration, trustees and the public have all expressed their views and concerns regarding the proposed $30 student athletics fee. \nNow IU President Adam Herbert has voiced his.\nThe proposal of the mandatory student athletics fee last month raised many questions. Herbert said people are unsure of exactly what a "structural" deficit is and how the IU athletics department accumulated a deficit of $2 million. \nThere is also a large contingency of students who do not attend IU athletics events and are concerned about paying $30 for something they do not choose to participate in. \nStudent leaders around campus have posed questions about the amount of time provided to discuss the issues, and what consequences might come of it. They are also concerned about the lack of student input on the situation.\nIn an interview with the Indiana Daily Student, Herbert said all of these questions are the main reason why the scheduled vote on the fee was delayed until the May 7 meeting of the IU trustees.\n"It continues to be my thought that it is extremely important that those impacted by a policy decision have the opportunity to provide input," Herbert said. "We must have as complete of an understanding of the issue and the alternatives to it as possible."\nHerbert addressed three possible alternatives to the fee.\nOne alternative is to increase the price of student tickets for men's basketball games, meaning students would pay the same price for tickets as the public. Another alternative would be to eliminate some of the student seating for men's basketball games all together and sell them to the general public at regular price. The final possibility would be to open up Assembly Hall to advertising.\nAssembly Hall currently has 7,800 of its 17,257 seats allotted to students. Contrary to the grumbling of students who believe Assembly Hall does not have enough student seats, IU provides the largest number of student seats of any Big Ten school. \nThe 12,000 student tickets sold this past season ranks among the highest in the country, and was nearly four times the next highest amount sold in the Big Ten, as rival Purdue sold approximately 3,300 seats this past season. \nEven schools known for their student seating sections, such as Duke's "Cameron Crazies" section, only allots 6,000 seats for students.\nThe topic of advertising in Assembly Hall has been discussed since the firing of former men's basketball coach Bob Knight in 2000. Knight was known for his opposition to adding any signage in Assembly Hall. The athletics department currently relies on IU Sports Properties for advertising, therefore any initiatives with regard to adding advertising would have to be addressed between the two groups. \nThe possibility of advertising in Assembly Hall is not out of the question. This past season, IUSP added a limited number of advertisements in the concourse area of Assembly Hall. \nWhen speaking to a HPER class this week, IUSP General Manager Bob Agramonte explained the issue of advertising in Assembly Hall has been a delicate one, but he believes there is a tasteful way to place ads in Assembly Hall that would not tarnish the tradition and history of the facility.\nIU Student Association President Casey Cox, a senior, has previously drafted a rough proposal and submitted it to the trustees regarding an incentive-based point system, where points would be given for ticket purchases and attendance at athletics events. Cox said a point system or package program is what he would ideally like to see happen.\n"I really like the incentive option because it allows students to contribute voluntarily," Cox said. "With the package, once the University has students purchasing football tickets tickets to get better basketball seats, there is already a vested interest in the football program. If the student has already spent the money and has the ticket in their hand, why not just go the game?"\nAnother possibility Herbert discussed includes packaging football and basketball tickets together, so in order to receive basketball tickets, you must purchase football tickets, as well.\n"If the trustees decide it's absolutely necessary to tie football and basketball together, I would rather see that option than the mandatory fee," Cox said. "We have student fans out there that could help reduce the deficit just because they are such passionate basketball fans."\nNo matter what decision is ultimately made regarding new revenues for the athletics department, Herbert said the deficit is something that has to be addressed, and it has come about because of the need to provide more sports in accordance with the Title IX regulation. Title IX mandates schools must provide equal opportunities for women in intercollegiate athletics.\n"I do not feel that the athletic fee is the only option," Herbert said, "but one clear thing is that we must address the budget problems created because we have added more non-revenue sports than our previous revenue stream could support."\nIU has added four women's sports in the last eight years in accordance with the Title IX agreement.\nAthletic Director Terry Clapacs and Brian Craig, president of the Student Athletic Board, could not be reached for comment at press time.\nThe final presentation regarding all mandatory fees for the Bloomington campus will be heard at the May 7 trustees meeting. The $30 athletic fee is the only fee currently being proposed, as it would fill the 4 percent cap IU placed on all fee increases. \n-- Contact staff writer David Paulen at dpaulen@indiana.edu.