A long-standing trend across the nation, one students and faculty alike question, is the funding of Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) primarily by the student general fee.

Each student at Miami University pays $1,722 per year for the student general fee. View a graph of general student fees since 2000.

According to a breakdown of the student general fee, about 50 percent of each student's fee goes toward ICA - that amounts to $13.8 million per year.

Jason Lener, deputy director for athletics, said money from the student general fee makes up 73 percent of ICA's budget per year.

The breakdown of the fee also shows that in 2009, $123,000 of the student general fee went toward music organizations. Less went toward multicultural concerts and lectures which received $37,000.

Dale Hinrichs, controller at Miami, deals with a number of facets surrounding Miami's finance. He works with general accounting, accounts payable, and the Office of the Bursar, to name a few.

"I make sure our money is spent the right way because we have $1 billion in assets," Hinrichs said.

Hinrichs said several factors are weighed when deciding where the student general fee money should be distributed, such as revenue the fee brings in and whether other sources of income can support the activities.

"The general fee has been around for years and it's clear to see the spirit of it supports operations that are used by students," Hinrichs said. "The activities are there for students if they chose to use them and it's important to provide a good mixture."

Hinrichs said athletic departments at larger schools such as Ohio State University aren't primarily supported by the student general fee because they produce enough revenue to pay for all the athletics programs.

William Houk, professor of physics and a member of university senate for more than 20 years, agreed Miami is like many other institutions, because very few actually make money from athletics.

"It's always been the case that part of the general fee pays for athletics because it doesn't get enough money to pay for itself," Houk said. "There's never been huge support for ICA here by students."

Hinrichs said ICA is considered an auxiliary enterprise - a self-supporting activity.

"Athletics is not what I call self-supporting, but it's supposed to be," Hinrichs said. "They can't get the money from someplace else. It costs to have an athletic department."

Lener said the budget for ICA goes toward three things - compensation to workers, scholarships for student-athletes and operation costs to run the programs.

Lener said the bulk of operating costs goes toward recruiting student-athletes, team travel, uniforms and equipment, and smaller items like office supplies and telephone charges.

Lener said he makes revenue projections for ICA based on grants, ticket sales, gifts from donors, etc.

"I figure out how much money we can generate and how much expenses will cost and the shortfall is made up by the student general fee," Lener said. "We never go in with more expenses than revenue."

Brad Bates, director of ICA, said there are around 550 student-athletes at Miami. He added that around 60 students are involved in ICA through working within the departments. There are student managers, students involved in sports medicine, student trainers, and students who intern in the areas of marketing.

Bates said ICA has had to make cutbacks just like every other department.

"We're holding games closer to Oxford and making administrative cuts," Bates said. "Having dialogue helps craft the distribution of our finite resources."

Lener said to reduce budget problems, about six positions were cut. Also, each program must reduce its budget, but Lener said they were given the freedom to decide how they're going to make changes.

Lener said the University of Akron receives 75 percent of the ICA budget from university support, which includes student fees. Bowling Green State University receives 64 percent of its budget from university support.

Right on par with Miami, Ohio University receives $14.3 million from university support, making up 75 percent of its ICA budget.

President David Hodge expressed concern with keeping the cost of athletics down.

Hodge said the majority of the student general fee going to ICA isn't a statement of priority, but it simply costs that much.

"Everyone in the Mid-American Conference has a high dependence on student fees," Hodge said. "Our firm intent is to drive the cost in the other direction. We can't reduce it but we're finding alternative revenue sources through fundraising."

David Creamer, vice president for finance and business services and treasurer, said it's common at Miami that the general fee for each student is higher than other schools.

Creamer said Miami's enrollment is lower, therefore causing the fee to be higher in hopes of balancing out the costs.

Creamer said student affairs and the president decide whether redistribution is needed.

"That would call for a lot of changes," Creamer said. "We have to think about the implications of that on ICA. Our budget for ICA pales in comparison to other schools. We have to step back and look at it in relative terms."

Creamer said while it is expensive, ICA is a cost-effective program that is done efficiently.

Houk said it's a complicated issue because ICA would suffer monetary shock if the money from the student fee was taken away.

"If you single out ICA, then where would you want that money to go?" Houk asked.

First-year Jeff Chapek, a zoology major, said it's not fair that most of the fee goes toward sports.

"If sports did well then it would make sense, but they aren't doing well," Chapek said. "It's high, but I don't know how much it takes to do these things. Art is pretty shafted."

Rachel Perna, a first-year accounting major, agreed ICA is getting a lot of money but said it's understandable because it has to get paid for somehow.

First-year Chase Wilhelm couldn't believe almost 50 percent of the general fee goes to ICA but said it makes sense that the more popular clubs and organizations would get more money.

"If we want to have nice things, we're going to have to pay for them," Wilhelm said. "We can't just expect that they'll be there. It's a small cost for a year of using these facilities."