The University of North Texas athletics department knew it would need additional resources to be competitive in the American Athletic Conference after making the jump from Conference USA over the summer.
The student body will help bridge that gap after UNT’s Board of Regents approved an increase to the athletics fee last week.
UNT’s fee will jump by $1.60 per credit hour to $17.85. The fee is capped at 15 hours and is expected to generate an additional $2.6 million for the athletics department.
UNT instituted an athletics fee in 2011 at $10 per credit hour. The university is required to receive approval from the student body if it increases the fee by more than 10%.
Students voted for an increase of $6.25 in 2018.
Regents approved an increase that falls just under the 10% threshold and avoided another student vote. The increase will take effect in the fall semester.
Athletic director Jared Mosley said increasing UNT’s athletics fee is part of its plan to become competitive in the American.
“It’s important for us to continue to grow all of our revenue streams in order to compete and provide our student-athletes with championship experiences,” Mosley said.
Former UNT athletic director Wren Baker, who guided the athletics program from 2016 until he left for West Virginia University late in 2022, set a goal for UNT’s programs to be funded among the top third of their conference peers.
Mosley has maintained that target and pointed to increasing UNT’s student fee as a key step toward reaching it now that UNT is in the American Athletic Conference.
UNT officials cited their $48 million budget for athletics and said it lags behind its peers in the American. Schools in the league with football programs have an average budget of $61 million, according to the proposal that regents approved.
Mosley emphasized that UNT needs to increase all of its revenue streams. The school reported $2.2 million in contributions in its last NCAA fiscal report for 2023 financial year.
While UNT sees potential for growth across its revenue streams, university officials pointed to how their fee compares to others in the state as a justification to increase it.
They cited peers such as Tarleton State University ($35 per credit hour), Texas State University ($22), the University of Texas at San Antonio ($20) and Sam Houston State University ($20).
“We’re very aware of the landscape of what many of our in-state peers and rivals charge in their student athletic fees,” Mosley said. “We are still well below the average of those institutions.”
Mosley named several areas where UNT plans to use the additional revenue the fee increase will generate, including academic support, physical and mental health services, improving team travel and nutrition.
UNT is hoping those changes will bolster its program across all the sports it sponsors.
Mosley presented the athletic department’s case for the fee increase to the regents and reiterated his stance this week.
“We do not need to be highest to be successful, but we do need to be closer to the average to maximize the opportunities afforded to add value back to alumni and their love for UNT through the platform we have in the American Athletic Conference and our broadcast partner ESPN,” he said.