UNC Charlotte Football

[monsoon]

Drive ten miles away from the campus and ask people where JCSU is located. I'd be surprised if even 50% knew it was in Charlotte, let alone where the school is.

Ahh so even you admit that having a football team at a University isn't the ticket to fame and glory of said school. In anycase a lot of people in this city would certainly disagree with you on the reputation of JCSU.

[AuLukey]

Ahh so even you admit that having a football team at a University isn't the ticket to fame and glory of said school. In anycase a lot of people in this city would certainly disagree with you on the reputation of JCSU.

I don't think anybody here has said a football team was a "ticket to fame." As I've said a million times now, it's just a part of the many things the university should work on in order to become a more recognizable university and to raise school spirit for both alumni, current students, and maybe even the community.

JCSU isn't exactly nationally recognized either. One major drawback is the student population which, in turn, has an impact on which conferences and teams they play.

[rockhilljames]

It cracks me up that a lot of folks here act like having a football program and top-flight academics are mutually exclusive.

Someone needs to tell Stanford, UCal, Auburn, Georgia Tech, etc, etc, etc to shut down their programs.

[monsoon]

JCSU isn't exactly nationally recognized either. One major drawback is the student population which, in turn, has an impact on which conferences and teams they play.

Oh so you want to establish a football team for White people in Charlotte using tax money because the one at JCSU is predominately Black? That is the only thing that I get from that statement.

[GoFightWin]

Oh so you want to establish a football team for White people in Charlotte using tax money because the one at JCSU is predominately Black? That is the only thing that I get from that statement.

Are you freaking kidding me?!?! That is NOT at all what he is saying. He is saying a college of 1300 students is never going to have a big time football program, (ie Div I-AA or Div I).

[mademan305]

Oh so you want to establish a football team for White people in Charlotte using tax money because the one at JCSU is predominately Black? That is the only thing that I get from that statement.

I absolutely didn't get that from Aussie Luke's statement and I don't know how you related what he was saying to race. He's saying that not that many people care about the small divisions. People are interested in watching Division I football and it's not going to happen at a school as small as JCSU. Conversly, I believe that UNCC now has around 20,000 students, which could possilby support a Division I program. This is the same reason a lot of people would rather hold out for Major League baseball than to build the minor league park built for the Knights. Small division football is just like watching minor league baseball as opposed to watching the big leagues. If you can't understand then you must not be a sports fan.

[ChiefJoJo]

South Florida (Tampa, a city somewhat similar to Charlotte--more of a pro sports town) started up a team only about ten years ago and they went to a bowl (Tire Bowl in Clt) last year and beat UNC last weekend in Chapel Hill. Of course they have the talent-rich state of FL to recruit from, but anyway... it could happen.

I went to NC State, so I can see why Charlotte would want a FB team. It does bring together fans and alumni, etc. A word of caution though. It's VERY expensive to develop a good FB program, which is why most major programs are very large state schools... Texas, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida, etc. Also, there are already 5 D1 FB programs in NC (NCSU, UNC, Duke, WF, ECU), so it won't be easy to find lots of players. Who knows if you'd ever make back the money it would take to start it up. At least you'd have a nice stadium.

[Miesian Corners]

It cracks me up that a lot of folks here act like having a football program and top-flight academics are mutually exclusive.

Someone needs to tell Stanford, UCal, Auburn, Georgia Tech, etc, etc, etc to shut down their programs.

I don't get that from any of the statements that have been made on here, but you bring up a point...all of those schools have football programs. So do Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Northwestern, etc.

I think that one of the points being made is that football could be an important tool to pull together the lack of cohesiveness (is that a word) we have at UNC Charlotte. Sure there are great schools (academically) that lack football programs (Drexel, Temple, etc), but they have something we don't: an urban enviornment that keeps students close to the school. Of course, at Temple you don't want to leave campus because your life could be in danger, so that may be the reason there, but I digress (besides, we have a rampant crime rate right here ON the campus at UNCC...probably safer to be off campus at this point).

[monsoon]

...... Who knows if you'd ever make back the money it would take to start it up. At least you'd have a nice stadium.

Indeed. Supporters have never provided anything that would indicate this would be the case. Charlotte already has several football stadiums, including one for the NFL, so I don't see the need to put up another one at UNCC. None of the schools listed above in NC for having college football have NFL football so I don't see the communty pulling for both at the same time.

[AuLukey]

I figure it's safer for my membership not to go off on what was implied from what I said. No worries. I'm glad met was the only one to get that out of what I said.

And you're right GoFightWin and Mademan, I was referring to the divisions. However, not being in the top division does not always impact attendence but does have an effect on the level of viewership. Take Appalachian for example, they aren't in Division I yet they still have great attendence for their games. However, until they were in the championship game, they hardly had any face time on the news or sportscasts. It's a matter of what our nation likes to watch, they don't seem to want to watch schools play each other when the entire student population of that school could fit into a single dorm building.

JCSU is not a school to be laughed at, it just doesn't have the overall size appeal to get it into the "big league" conferences within Division I play.

To your last statement Metro, have you been to Pittsburgh, Miami, Boston, Atlanta, etc etc etc etc etc etc? Seems like college and pro football CAN coexist without a smidgin of problems.

To JoJo, recruiting issues may come up for in-state students, however, look at football rosters for most major athletics programs in the nation. How many of those players come from in-state? Usually half, and those aren't always the starters.

[monsoon]

....

To your last statement Metro, have you been to Pittsburgh, Miami, Boston, Atlanta, etc etc etc etc etc etc? Seems like college and pro football CAN coexist without a smidgin of problems.....

Why yes and I used to live in South Florida, and I can tell you that college football way way off the radar screen of most people living there. I don't think I ever heard anyone even speak of it.

[AuLukey]

Why yes and I used to live in South Florida, and I can tell you that college football way way off the radar screen of most people living there. I don't think I ever heard anyone even speak of it.

My appologies, I didn't realize that you were among those who don't watch college football. Birds of a feather...

[monsoon]

My appologies, I didn't realize that you were among those who don't watch college football. Birds of a feather...

This is a fairly irrelevant comment to this topic but hardly unexpected. I have said this more than once in this topic:

• I disagree with spending public money to build a football team at UNCC.
  
• If the boosters and supporters want to build a team and stadium with their own money then by all means proceed. But don't expect the rest of us to pay for it as there are too many other needs in this city of greater importance.
  
• Nobody has provided any proof that UNCC is not able to provide a good education for its students because it does not have a football program.
  
• Nobody has provided any proof that a football team at UNCC would provide any net financial benefit to the school. Where is the financial analysis that would back this claim?
  

If you care to address any of these items then please do so.

[charlottealum49]

This is a fairly irrelevant comment to this topic but hardly unexpected. I have said this more than once in this topic:

• I disagree with spending public money to build a football team at UNCC.
  
• If the boosters and supporters want to build a team and stadium with their own money then by all means proceed. But don't expect the rest of us to pay for it as there are too many other needs in this city of greater importance.
  
• Nobody has provided any proof that UNCC is not able to provide a good education for its students because it does not have a football program.
  
• Nobody has provided any proof that a football team at UNCC would provide any net financial benefit to the school. Where is the financial analysis that would back this claim?
  

If you care to address any of these items then please do so.

This is my first post on the messageboard. I've been reading this thread for a while now - but I never had the desire to respond. It felt like everyone was just arguing their own opinions without really asking questions or considering whether their arguments were based on anything other then their own beliefs. I just did not feel like getting involved. But metro's comments seem to be coming from legitimate concerns, so I will do my best to respond to each of the statements.

- "Public money" I have no idea where the idea came from that football would be paid with taxpayer money. Although it's less far-fetched from some of the other things I've read on this thread! (Bonnie Cone's paralyzed son?)

I've looked at how the North Carolina spends money on the 16 universities in the state and, while I admit it's pretty awful, I can pretty much assure you that A) You won't be seeing any kind of "Football Resolution" passed in some kind of legislation session that will increase your taxes and B) The university system is very much against increasing the 5 billion+ they spend on capital improvements in the system - not that you could find any funds directly going towards football for any public school, that's gotta come from donors.

- "If the boosters and supporters want to build a team and stadium with their own money then by all means proceed. But don't expect the rest of us to pay for it as there are too many other needs in this city of greater importance."

What would the taxpayer money be spent on? Scholarships? ... No, the NCAA requires that athletic scholarships have to be paid for through donations specifically for athletics. Staff salaries? ....No, that's has to come from the income generated from tuition/student fees. UNC Charlotte has previously stated that expenses for football will have to come from an increase in student fees - possibly in the neighborhood of up to $200/student (muliply by 20,000 students and you will raise $4 million/year for football and the subsequent Title IX women's sports) Are there any other expenses that would come from taxpayer money?...No, I really don't think so.

How about facility costs? You have to build a campus stadium, right? Not anymore. Very recently, the NCAA passed a resolution that would make Municipal Stadium in Charlotte eligible for college football. (They eliminated the 30,000 permanent seats rule) http://www.ncaa.org/releases/divi/2001080301d1.htm http://www.ncaa.org/databases/reports/1/20...report_a05.html

This is very good news, as the school was investigating the possibility of constructing a football stadium on campus a few years ago to meet the old NCAA criteria. Also, for the sentimental, Municipal Stadium housed Charlotte's college football team from the 1940s. It would cost UNC Charlotte $6,500 dollars per game to pay for facility costs to the taxpayers of the city of Charlotte.

http://www.charmeck.nc.us/Departments/Park...ial+Stadium.htm So in actuality, taxpayers in Charlotte would be receiving a few dollars. Even if Charlotte decided it needed to spend money on its football facilities, the money would have to come from the university itself. If you can show me anything that indicates any taxpayer money goes directly towards college football in the state of North Carolina for any school - please share the info! I would be behind you 100% in getting that person fired - aka the guy who came up with that decision.

-"Nobody has provided any proof that UNCC is not able to provide a good education for its students because it does not have a football program."

Well, I can't provide proof. But I can provide a good make-believe story:

Once upon a time, there was a UNC Charlotte Electrical Engineering Department Head and a NC State Electrical Engineering Department Head "Oh, woe is me", said the Charlotte professor, "We need the state to give us our fair share towards capital improvements, but they won't give us the money. Where O where can we get our funding?"

The NC State professor smiled and said, "I can help you. Stop the movement for football now. We have football at NC State and it costs us a bundle! Why, for every 80 cents we gain from football, we spend $1.20 on expenses for football! Oh, the humanity. Poor NC State Engineering. Don't make the same mistakes we did."

So the Charlotte professor raises hell. "Stop football!', he exclaims, "We must put all of our money towards research! Athletics and academics are mutually exclusive!" And it worked. Charlotte delays the start of a new football program.

Time passes, and NC State is awarded with a nice addition to its Engineering Department - maybe a new materials testing lab and a computer lab. Charlotte is left out in the cold and receives nothing. Again, Charlotte feels like it is not getting its share of the state budget. After all, it contributes the 2nd highest amount of money to the university system (Chapel Hill is first). Why does the state not give Charlotte its share of the pie?

The NC State professor returns. "Woo-Doggy!", he sighs, "We sure lost a lot of money from football again this year! Hey, I hear they are trying to revive efforts for a football team. You better stop it again!" Then the NC State professor starts to giggle.

I wrote my little tale to try to introduce everyone to the wonderfully weird and wild ways the state distributes money to the 16 schools in the university system, also known as 'Matching funds'. The state supplies the university with 66.69% of the overall budget, matching the collective schools' 33.31% (Check out www.northcarolina.edu for some interesting reading) So in other words, if a school raises a dollar, the state will give the school 2 dollars.

Back to my tale. I made up some numbers there - 80 cents in revenues for football per $1.20 in expenses for football. If you said that football is losing a ton of money, you would be making an accurate statement.

But wait a minute! The state is going to match the 80 cents the school is earning through football with $1.60 (all of which is to be spent on educational facilities. The school can't use the state funds for anything except endeavors directly relating to educating state citizens).

So that means the school receives $2.40 ($1.60 for education and $0.80 for football) and must spend $1.20 in expenses for football. Seems like the school comes out ahead in that deal - academics doesn't seem to suffer all that much.

So now you may begin to understand why public institutions are so attached to their football programs even though they sometimes seemingly lose a ton of money. Of course, you may be hard-pressed in getting anyone associated with football schools to admit something like that. Is it dirty? You bet. Is it unfair? Absolutely. Should UNC Charlotte sit idly by and watch the other state schools take advantage of the system? That's open to some debate.

- "Nobody has provided any proof that a football team at UNCC would provide any net financial benefit to the school. Where is the financial analysis that would back this claim?"

Well, it IS a bit hard to prove, I admit. I don't have enough info to know whether or not it will work or not. Of course, I'm not sure you can prove that it won't work, either. If you want, I can provide some financial analysis. At least you'll have some numbers to debate amongst yourselves.

Expenses: (Unless otherwise noted, this info comes directly from a precursory investigation performed directly by UNC Charlotte from a few years ago. There's all kind of warnings in the document that the numbers should be taken with a grain of salt in terms of accuracy. For the most part, the numbers were generated by looking at how Conference USA football programs spent and earned their money)

Head Coach (salary/benefits): $345,102

Assistant Coaches (9) (s/b): $786,743

Team Travel: $400,000

Recruiting Travel: $125,000

Equipment Costs: $150,000

Officials: $72,000

Stadium Costs (Charlotte): If Memorial Stadium is used, $6,500 per game x 5 games = $32,500

Guarantees: $875,000 Assumes two non-conference @ $250,000 each / three conference games @ $125,000 each

Additional staffing (football-related): $335,000 Assumes two FT trainers @ $60,000 each / one SID @ $45,000 / three secretarial support @ $30,000 each

/ one FT Video Director @ $50,000 / one Asst Video Dir @ $30,000

Other operating expenses: $150,000 Printing / maintenance / phones / mailings / computers / courtesy cars / video

Preseason costs: $75,000 Housing / meals for two weeks prior to school opening for 85 student-athletes

Estimated Annual Cost for Football: $3,346,345

Scholarships (Charlotte): $935,000*

Based on 85 scholarships @ $11,000: $935,000

*MUST be funded through donations, not by football revenue or student fees) ((or taxpayer money ))

3,346,345 + 935,000 = $4,281,345

How would (could) the program be funded?

$1,830,000/year MUST be donated for football/Title IX scholarship funds to attain Division 1A eligiblity, college football's highest level. A lower amount would cause UNC Charlotte to play their games as a Division 1AA team or lower. (see link http://www.ncaa.org/releases/divi/2001080301d1.htm)

Ticket buyers? The C-USA average is $1.33 million. Assuming five home games, you would need about 20,000 paying customers @ $13.00+ to hit goal.

Game Guarantees? Assuming three conference road games @ $125,000, and two "buy" games at $350,000 each, you could generate $1.075 million.

Student fees? Given the above, an additional $1,500,000 would need to be generated. Given the projected student enrollment increases, it would take about $87 per student in additional student athletic fees to fund the football portion of the equation.

What are we leaving out?

Office Space / Training Room expansion / Weight Room expansion Costs: Unknown ($5-7 million?) - one-time

Academic Support Staff / Strength Center Staff / Adminstrative Support Costs: $300,000 annual

Academic Counselor (2) $40,000 each w/benefits

Asst. Strength Coach (2) $35,000 each w/benefits

Asst. AD/Operations $50,000 w/benefits

Asst. Compliance Officer $35,000 w/benefits

Asst. Ticket Manager $30,000 w/benefits

Asst. Marketing Director $35,000 w/benefits

Gender Equity Concerns Costs: $0.5-1.5 million annually

The addition of 85 male student-athletes would need to be countered with the addition of about 100 female student-athletes in order to meet

the proportionality test. ($1.1 million for 100 female scholarships)

I need to post here more often! That was a long-ass post I'll try to spread my thoughts out into smaller pieces if I ever post here again.

Carry on.

Edited October 18, 2006 by charlottealum49

[AuLukey]

I'm speechless, I'm glad somebody actually sat down and thought through the entire process. You should join the Charlotte49erFootball initiative. You have a lot of knowledge on this subject.

And yes, you're right, a lot of what has been said by all parties on this thread is mostly just biased opinions.

As for the questions posed originally in this thread, it was never meant to get into a 'heated' debate over financing. Whether or not it is financially viable wasn't something I was going to try and get into, which is why I'm glad you did. I just have a strong bias towards gaining football to help establish a few goals; of trying to increase student activity, involvement, and hey, maybe even staying in town on the weekends. People that stay in Charlotte, spend money in Charlotte. Alumni and/or fans that visit for games, spend money in Charlotte. So, my only hope is that people would look at football not only as a way to boost the school spirit of students and alumni, but to also help contribute to the economy and identity of Charlotte. And by that, I do not mean reshape Charlotte's identity, as I know not everybody loves college football *cough,* I mean it would probably help to pull those who do enjoy the sport more into a local pride rather than in schools off in nebraska or whereever.

And you know, if I did go to JCSU, I would probably go to games even after I graduated. But I guess supporting 'my' team and my school after I graduate makes me different than "most Americans."

[monsoon]

And yes, you're right, a lot of what has been said by all parties on this thread is mostly just biased opinions.

By All Parties I assume you are including yourself in that and if you feel that you have been presenting a biased opinion then so be it, I don't disagree. However you can only speak for yourself and I don't include myself in that opinion.

I still have not seen anything that says that UNCC would benefit from having a football team, nor that the school is not meeting the needs of its students because it doesn't have one. The example posted above is hypothetical by the author's own admission, but I do note that he is asking everyone that attends the school to pay an extra $87 to partially fund the tuition of the football students. I see that as a tax for football and it seems to me that given the analysis performed above, it would be easier and more profitable just to keep the money and use it directly for school uses.

[dubone]

Thanks, alum49, for the information. I didn't know that much about the matching funds, but that would seem to me to be a deciding factor if I was a 'decider'.

I guess the criticism that the state doesn't give UNCC enough would imply that UNCC doesn't play enough within the formula to get money out of the system.

As for tuition being a tax, it is not. But I would agree that $87 is quite a lot, but it somehow seemed low after the sticker shock of $200 msrp earlier in the post . However, there are fees for all sorts of other fanciful things that are important to students. If an athletic fee is something the student body wanted to charge themselves, then that is up to them, not alumni nor olique third parties like myself.

As for UNCC not meeting their students' needs, I think almost everyone would say that they are. People who matriculate at UNCC want the type of education that UNCC provides, and that is that. Football is not a need. Football is a want just like good architecture is a want. UNCC does not provide some wants. This isn't Sparta, so I applaud this group for actively pursuing to satisfy their want.

But it seems to me that if that matching program indeed works like that, academics would benefit greatly from the funds opened up by a football program. Unless we're back to saying that money toward academics doesn't help academics.

[ChiefJoJo]

Charlotte already has several football stadiums, including one for the NFL, so I don't see the need to put up another one at UNCC.

I assumed they would play in B of A Stadium... like Pitt does at Heinz Field, etc. I guess they could play at memorial too, but that place is out of date and would likely need to be renovated.

To JoJo, recruiting issues may come up for in-state students, however, look at football rosters for most major athletics programs in the nation. How many of those players come from in-state? Usually half, and those aren't always the starters.

What I mean is that the most successful schools tend to be publically-supported universities from populous states. Texas, Florida, Ohio State, Michigan. They have tons of resurces, large alumni bases and fertile in-state recruiting grounds. Those schools ether dominate their home state or there are simply so many great players to choose from, they still get enough to "feed" the program. Home grown talent is the lifeblood of any major successful CFB program. UNCC could add FB, but there's absolutely no reason to believe that adding a sixth D1 FB team to NC would be a very successful effort. If success means competing with ECU and Cincinatti, etc, than maybe, but any more than that, I don't think so.

[AuLukey]

What I mean is that the most successful schools tend to be publically-supported universities from populous states. Texas, Florida, Ohio State, Michigan. They have tons of resurces, large alumni bases and fertile in-state recruiting grounds. Those schools ether dominate their home state or there are simply so many great players to choose from, they still get enough to "feed" the program. Home grown talent is the lifeblood of any major successful CFB program. UNCC could add FB, but there's absolutely no reason to believe that adding a sixth D1 FB team to NC would be a very successful effort. If success means competing with ECU and Cincinatti, etc, than maybe, but any more than that, I don't think so.

I do agree with your point about populous states are generally the sources of the most successful schools; but also keep in mind that NC's population is gaining steam on some of the competition. However, the starting quarterbacks for both Georgia and Florida are from North Carolina. To be specific, they are both from Independence High, if one high school in our state is an indicator of some of the talent our state can provide, it's IHigh. However, we all know one high school is not enough to feed a university team.

Just as an added fact, and not to argue your point, the Florida-Georgia game coming up next week will have 12 players from North Carolina on the field, of which four are from Charlotte. A lot of NC's talent isn't staying in state. But nobody ever said Charlotte would have a winning record for the first decade. Heck, look at the Bobcats, and that's major league.

Also, as for competing with Cincinatti, up until last year, Charlotte played both the Bearcats and Louisville in Conference USA in basketball. Louisville is now one of the top ranked teams in NCAA Football. Something happened.

And yes met, I include myself as I said I have a biased opinion later in that very post. And yes, I've seen some opinions made on your part as well, for example "most of the nation's population doesn't care about college football."

[jimmyhat49er]

www.nineronline.com is doing a series of articles this week lloking at the issue of Football at UNC Charlotte.

If you support football be sure and vote in the poll in the lower right corner.

I am quoted in todays article, but you can read the entire article I submitted below:

1) Mr. Duncan, in what way are you involved in trying to bring football to UNCC?

In April of this year I started a campaign to find out if there was enough interest among the alumni and the Charlotte community to support the creation of a football team at UNC Charlotte. I began to compile a list of supporters with how much money they would contribute to start a football program, what they would give yearly to support it and how many season tickets they would purchase. This led to more people wanting to get involved and Mike Willard created www.charlotte49erfootball.com and along with Eric Vernon, Justin Houston and Chris Moore we formed the Charlotte 49er Football Initiative (CFI) and with the help of Mandeep Gill and Will Tate, the student arm of our organization the CFIS. While we are still in our infancy, to date we have had 440 people sign up and agree to pledge $310,202 to start up a football program and give $146,897 yearly to support the program and purchase 1012 season tickets.

2) Do you feel football would be key to bringing increased school spirit to UNCC?

I think it is not only the key, it is essential. Students have been in school since August, yet UNC Charlotte's primary sport doesn't kick off until October 19th with Basketball Madness. So how have UNC Charlotte students been satisfying their sports appetite for these last 2 months??? They have been visiting their friends at UNC, State, Clemson, ECU and App St. and attending their football games and buying their gear and they return to campus and that

[monsoon]

1. We are one of the lowest funded schools in the UNC system. Fact: We are in the bottom third in funding of the schools in the UNC system, along with ECU and App St. Why are ECU and App St. able to field football programs and we can

[ChiefJoJo]

However, the starting quarterbacks for both Georgia and Florida are from North Carolina. To be specific, they are both from Independence High, if one high school in our state is an indicator of some of the talent our state can provide, it's IHigh. However, we all know one high school is not enough to feed a university team.

Just as an added fact, and not to argue your point, the Florida-Georgia game coming up next week will have 12 players from North Carolina on the field, of which four are from Charlotte. A lot of NC's talent isn't staying in state.

Yep. NC State could have sure used Chris Leak or Massaquoi (the WR for UGA), but they chose to leave the state. Charlotte Independence and others have been a well-known supplier of talent for big-time SEC schools for anumber of years. Really UGA isn't that far of a drive from Clt, so it makes some sense. Point being, Charlotte wouldn't stand a chance at getting players like those, but I think we agree on that.

I'd like to see the numbers add up on the FB thing. If all the money is raised privately by the 49er club then so be it, but I don't want public funds used to start a FB team. THe UNC System already has Wesleyan trying to become UNC-Rocky Mount to get in on some more state money... like the state has any more money to give away--the pie can't be sliced much more thinly. UNC and State get the lions share, but still must raise tuition to keep up with demand for facilities and faculty pay because the state subsidy for the UNC System drops almost every year. In the 21st century economy, public universities must become excellent fund-raisers to survive and prosper.

[AuLukey]

Here are a few more updates to the cause sent out for members of Charlotte49erFootball:

Another Charlotte poll stating how much money students would be willing to pay for a team:

http://www.nineronline.com/poll/index.cfm?...playPollResults

Surprising results even to me, only 6% of those polled would not pay any money extra in tuition to help support a team. I mean, even if considering it is an extra $200 a year, that's paltry compared to tuition anyway. That's less than most universities increase tuition yearly anyway.

An interview with one of the members of the initiative on Fox:

And according to this article on NinerOnline, Ben Comstock, the student body president, and the SGA are about to begin a program to see how much students want a team on campus. You'll need an account to read the second page of the article:

http://www.nineronline.com/media/storage/p...nineronline.com

Edited October 18, 2006 by aussie luke

[monsoon]

...... I mean, even if considering it is an extra $200 a year, that's paltry compared to tuition anyway. That's less than most universities increase tuition yearly anyway.

While you may dismiss it, that amount might make the differenct between someone of more limited means being able to get an education or not. We should not be increasing what it costs someone to attend school, to give a free education to a football player. As I said earlier, if the fans of football want to have it then let them pay for it, but don't force it on everyone else.

[jimmyhat49er]

The Charlotte Football Initiative and the football movement at Charlotte as a whole will be featured on WCNC NEWS6 on the 6:00(wil actually start at 5:52) and the 11:00 on Sunday.