Maroon87
02-14-2008, 01:12 PM
From the Statesman...
Students vote to help pay for program's move up to the next level
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The students at Texas State are willing to pay for big-time football.
Texas State students voted overwhelmingly to increase their athletics fee by $10 per semester credit hour in $2 per year increments over five years to help the university move its football program to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision.
Of the 5,952 votes tallied on Tuesday and Wednesday, 4,738 (79.6 percent) were in favor of the increase.
The university will ask that the fee increase be approved by the Texas State University board of regents during a meeting on Feb. 22 at Lamar University in Beaumont.
The plan is to have the Bobcats ready for the highest level of NCAA football in four years, the earliest Texas State could make the move. The NCAA recently voted for a four-year moratorium on universities changing football subdivisions.
Texas State now competes in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) as a member of the Southland Conference. In 2005, the Bobcats reached the Division I-AA semifinals before losing to Northern Iowa 40-37 in overtime.
The Bobcats were 4-7 in 2007, 3-4 in the Southland.
This past season, 119 teams competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A), including 10 in Texas.
"I am very proud of our students for their support of this initiative," Texas State president Denise M. Trauth said in a statement. "It shows they are excited about the future of athletics at Texas State and in the continuing progress of the university."
Students currently pay an athletics fee of $10 per semester credit hour. That amount will double in five years, but it won't be the only source of income to fund the planned move.
Trauth said the university will try to raise additional funds through ticket sales, marketing and sponsorships, community support, suite leases and capital gifts.
The university recently received a $1 million donation for athletics from alumnus Darren Casey, a San Antonio businessman.
""We want to be ready to step forward when the moratorium is lifted," said Larry Teis, Texas State's director of athletics. "We know what needs to be done, and now it is time to take the next steps."
Students vote to help pay for program's move up to the next level
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The students at Texas State are willing to pay for big-time football.
Texas State students voted overwhelmingly to increase their athletics fee by $10 per semester credit hour in $2 per year increments over five years to help the university move its football program to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision.
Of the 5,952 votes tallied on Tuesday and Wednesday, 4,738 (79.6 percent) were in favor of the increase.
The university will ask that the fee increase be approved by the Texas State University board of regents during a meeting on Feb. 22 at Lamar University in Beaumont.
The plan is to have the Bobcats ready for the highest level of NCAA football in four years, the earliest Texas State could make the move. The NCAA recently voted for a four-year moratorium on universities changing football subdivisions.
Texas State now competes in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) as a member of the Southland Conference. In 2005, the Bobcats reached the Division I-AA semifinals before losing to Northern Iowa 40-37 in overtime.
The Bobcats were 4-7 in 2007, 3-4 in the Southland.
This past season, 119 teams competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A), including 10 in Texas.
"I am very proud of our students for their support of this initiative," Texas State president Denise M. Trauth said in a statement. "It shows they are excited about the future of athletics at Texas State and in the continuing progress of the university."
Students currently pay an athletics fee of $10 per semester credit hour. That amount will double in five years, but it won't be the only source of income to fund the planned move.
Trauth said the university will try to raise additional funds through ticket sales, marketing and sponsorships, community support, suite leases and capital gifts.
The university recently received a $1 million donation for athletics from alumnus Darren Casey, a San Antonio businessman.
""We want to be ready to step forward when the moratorium is lifted," said Larry Teis, Texas State's director of athletics. "We know what needs to be done, and now it is time to take the next steps."