“For someone who doesn’t care a whole lot about athletics, it seems a bit much for me to have to contribute…”

It’s bad enough that student athletic fees have increased faster than the overall cost of a public university education over the last decade.

Schools in Division 1, the top level of college sports, collected $1.2 billion in fiscal 2018, according to NCAA figures, 51 percent more than a decade ago. By contrast, the average yearly tuition at a four-year public college has risen 37 percent in the same span, according to the College Board.

It’s even worse that many schools hide that expense by burying it in tuition costs.

Students often have little way to know how much they’re paying towards athletics. Many schools, despite reporting large revenues from student fees in athletic finance documents, do not list an athletic fee on their website or tuition bills.

NBC News examined actual tuition bills received by students from 20 schools in six states that collect athletic fees, and didn’t find the fees listed on any of the bills. In more than half of those cases, we were able to determine the fees by looking at a school’s financial website. In the rest, however, we had to ask a school official or file a public records request.

And the Adding Insult to Injury Award has to go to Miami of Ohio for this bullshit move:

At least one school used its fees to keep itself from being kicked out of the top tier of Division 1.

Miami University in Oxford, Ohio — which charged students $1,044.87 in athletic fees this school year — has used money from student fees to make up for low ticket sales. It purchased 10,000 of its own football tickets per home game this past season. The tickets were not resold at a discounted rate or donated.

Amazing this stuff isn’t more of a public outrage.  I guess it’s okay when it’s in pursuit of the academic experience.