On Oct. 25 and 26, voting was held on a proposal to increase the mandatory athletics fee that UTSA students pay every semester. Unsurprisingly, the proposal was met with criticism from students, who firmly voted to reject the proposal.
Almost 5,900 students voted on the proposal, with 29.33% voting yes and 70.66% voting no. According to UTSA Today, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Lisa Campos attributed the loss to a financial concern from students, stating that “cost of attendance is top of mind for many of our students and we respect that. Our desire is to make the value of a UTSA degree even greater, and we will continue to do our part to support the success of our students and graduates.”
While the cost of attendance is a prominent reason, this sound rejection from Roadrunners also signals dissatisfaction with the focus that athletics is getting when it comes to funding. With the recent openings of the $40.4 million Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence (RACE) building in 2021 and the $8 million Park West Athletics Complex in July, many students asked why the additional funding was necessary while they were still using classrooms originally built in 1975. It is worth noting that funding for the RACE building was not allocated from student fees but was made possible through philanthropic donations and support from the City of San Antonio.
While Campos stressed the importance that this was not an “either/or” proposal and that some funding may go towards fixing issues on campus, many students were unhappy with the priority that athletics funding would get over funding for solving these problems. UTSA is first and foremost a university, and students deserve to have the best learning environment funded by the tuition and fees they pay to attend UTSA.
The rejection of the “Everyone W1NS” proposal provides UTSA with a unique opportunity to address the issues that concern Roadrunners. The university administration now has a hand on the pulse of issues that students face during their pursuit of academic success because of this proposal. UTSA needs to take action and address the concerns of its students. As Roadrunners, we need to continue to advocate for the changes we would like to see on campus and the problems we would like to see solved. It is the job of UTSA to listen to those concerns and act accordingly.
