Finally, UNCC students will get to vote on the idea of a football team for the 49ers. This News 14 account is technically incorrect, however.
A tuition hike would not be needed to pay for the football program. An increase in student fees? Yes, probably. This is because UNCC’s athletic department is already heavily dependent on student fees — just like many institutions around the country. In fact, if UNCC students did not subsidize athletic department with millions of dollars in student fees each year, there would be no 49er sports.
The question is what happens going forward. As we’ve pointed out here repeatedly, UNCC without football and in the A10 as a basketball-only school is not a long-term winning strategy. There is a distinct risk that if interest in the flagship men’s basketball program wanes, UNCC’s will face a fee hike without football.
To put the football question in perspective then, students should think about perhaps paying a little more upfront for the entertainment and cultural value of football Saturdays vs. the possibility of a 49er sports meltdown some years in the future without football.
