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from today's Washington Post print edition (taken from San Diego paper) on how jmu funds it's athletic programs:
www.sandiegouniontribune.com
"At $104.8 million, SDSU had the second-largest athletic budget in 2024-25 among non-power conferences behind UConn, according to the most recently available figures in the College Athletic Database operated by Syracuse University. James Madison is seventh at $78.8 million, ahead of Boise State, Colorado State, UNLV and Memphis.
James Madison?
The difference is the Dukes belong to the Sun Belt Conference, which typically distributes only about $2 million per year to each of its members. And JMU is a public university in Virginia, where state law severely limits institutional support for intercollegiate athletics. And it has far lower ticket sales, sponsorships and donor contributions than power conference schools with decades of sports tradition baked into its alumni base.
So where does it get its money?
The students are paying for the student-athletes.
Tuition at JMU is just under $9,000 per year, but students pay a mandatory annual auxiliary fee of $6,222. Of that, $2,581 goes to athletics.
That computes to just under $60 million.
You must pay the fee whether or not you are interested in intercollegiate sports. You get free admission to games, but all of JMU’s games are free anyway except for football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball, and you could buy a season ticket to watch those teams for less than $500 combined.
Student fees accounted for 73% of JMU’s athletics budget in 2024-25, which is down from 78% and 79% in the previous two years. Over the past two decades, the fees have more than tripled.
Their revenue from more traditional sources — television rights, tickets, sponsorships, donors — was $12 million in 2024-25.
“Yes, the number is high when you see that number as a straight student fee collection compared to other universities,” said Kevin Warner, JMU’s associate athletic director for branding and strategic initiatives. “It’s because of how we do our accounting that it looks higher compared to a lot of places. … It’s not apples to apples.”
Student fees at Virginia schools trend higher than elsewhere because of the lack of direct institutional support. JMU ranks near the bottom nationally for football-playing schools at just over $2 million, according to the College Athletics Database, or $17.5 million less than the median among the Group of 6 (non-power conferences).
Some services, like human resources and payroll, are not covered by the general campus and instead billed to the athletic department.
“Honestly, it’s a matter of transparency,” JMU’s Warner said. “We’re telling you right up front where your money is going. A lot of universities in other states, what the university is subsidizing for athletics comes from your tuition and you may not know.
“The number going to athletes is probably higher than people realize at a lot of places. Here, you see it right up front.”
Virginia’s other Division I schools face similar financial challenges but don’t receive as much in student fees. Old Dominion collects nearly $25 million less, vcu $30 million less and George Mason $32 million less. The University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, as members of the ACC, get nearly $50 million each in conference distributions and consequently charge far less in student fees.
The difference is in emphasis. Athletics are clearly a priority at JMU, located in the nation’s most populous state without a major pro sports franchise."
How is James Madison so competitive in football and other sports? Follow the money
JMU’s students are paying for the student-athletes.
www.sandiegouniontribune.com
"At $104.8 million, SDSU had the second-largest athletic budget in 2024-25 among non-power conferences behind UConn, according to the most recently available figures in the College Athletic Database operated by Syracuse University. James Madison is seventh at $78.8 million, ahead of Boise State, Colorado State, UNLV and Memphis.
James Madison?
The difference is the Dukes belong to the Sun Belt Conference, which typically distributes only about $2 million per year to each of its members. And JMU is a public university in Virginia, where state law severely limits institutional support for intercollegiate athletics. And it has far lower ticket sales, sponsorships and donor contributions than power conference schools with decades of sports tradition baked into its alumni base.
So where does it get its money?
The students are paying for the student-athletes.
Tuition at JMU is just under $9,000 per year, but students pay a mandatory annual auxiliary fee of $6,222. Of that, $2,581 goes to athletics.
That computes to just under $60 million.
You must pay the fee whether or not you are interested in intercollegiate sports. You get free admission to games, but all of JMU’s games are free anyway except for football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball, and you could buy a season ticket to watch those teams for less than $500 combined.
Student fees accounted for 73% of JMU’s athletics budget in 2024-25, which is down from 78% and 79% in the previous two years. Over the past two decades, the fees have more than tripled.
Their revenue from more traditional sources — television rights, tickets, sponsorships, donors — was $12 million in 2024-25.
“Yes, the number is high when you see that number as a straight student fee collection compared to other universities,” said Kevin Warner, JMU’s associate athletic director for branding and strategic initiatives. “It’s because of how we do our accounting that it looks higher compared to a lot of places. … It’s not apples to apples.”
Student fees at Virginia schools trend higher than elsewhere because of the lack of direct institutional support. JMU ranks near the bottom nationally for football-playing schools at just over $2 million, according to the College Athletics Database, or $17.5 million less than the median among the Group of 6 (non-power conferences).
Some services, like human resources and payroll, are not covered by the general campus and instead billed to the athletic department.
“Honestly, it’s a matter of transparency,” JMU’s Warner said. “We’re telling you right up front where your money is going. A lot of universities in other states, what the university is subsidizing for athletics comes from your tuition and you may not know.
“The number going to athletes is probably higher than people realize at a lot of places. Here, you see it right up front.”
Virginia’s other Division I schools face similar financial challenges but don’t receive as much in student fees. Old Dominion collects nearly $25 million less, vcu $30 million less and George Mason $32 million less. The University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, as members of the ACC, get nearly $50 million each in conference distributions and consequently charge far less in student fees.
The difference is in emphasis. Athletics are clearly a priority at JMU, located in the nation’s most populous state without a major pro sports franchise."
Portlandian
Hall of Famer
I wonder how many students would opt out (in general) or at GMU if they could:
You must pay the fee whether or not you are interested in intercollegiate sports
It does suck that they have to pay the fee and then can't even get into certain sports games for free.
You must pay the fee whether or not you are interested in intercollegiate sports
It does suck that they have to pay the fee and then can't even get into certain sports games for free.
I’d venture to guess 95% of them.
yet the students pay the same price basicallyfrom today's Washington Post print edition (taken from San Diego paper) on how jmu funds it's athletic programs:
How is James Madison so competitive in football and other sports? Follow the money
JMU’s students are paying for the student-athletes.
"At $104.8 million, SDSU had the second-largest athletic budget in 2024-25 among non-power conferences behind UConn, according to the most recently available figures in the College Athletic Database operated by Syracuse University. James Madison is seventh at $78.8 million, ahead of Boise State, Colorado State, UNLV and Memphis.
James Madison?
The difference is the Dukes belong to the Sun Belt Conference, which typically distributes only about $2 million per year to each of its members. And JMU is a public university in Virginia, where state law severely limits institutional support for intercollegiate athletics. And it has far lower ticket sales, sponsorships and donor contributions than power conference schools with decades of sports tradition baked into its alumni base.
So where does it get its money?
The students are paying for the student-athletes.
Tuition at JMU is just under $9,000 per year, but students pay a mandatory annual auxiliary fee of $6,222. Of that, $2,581 goes to athletics.
That computes to just under $60 million.
You must pay the fee whether or not you are interested in intercollegiate sports. You get free admission to games, but all of JMU’s games are free anyway except for football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball, and you could buy a season ticket to watch those teams for less than $500 combined.
Student fees accounted for 73% of JMU’s athletics budget in 2024-25, which is down from 78% and 79% in the previous two years. Over the past two decades, the fees have more than tripled.
Their revenue from more traditional sources — television rights, tickets, sponsorships, donors — was $12 million in 2024-25.
“Yes, the number is high when you see that number as a straight student fee collection compared to other universities,” said Kevin Warner, JMU’s associate athletic director for branding and strategic initiatives. “It’s because of how we do our accounting that it looks higher compared to a lot of places. … It’s not apples to apples.”
Student fees at Virginia schools trend higher than elsewhere because of the lack of direct institutional support. JMU ranks near the bottom nationally for football-playing schools at just over $2 million, according to the College Athletics Database, or $17.5 million less than the median among the Group of 6 (non-power conferences).
Some services, like human resources and payroll, are not covered by the general campus and instead billed to the athletic department.
“Honestly, it’s a matter of transparency,” JMU’s Warner said. “We’re telling you right up front where your money is going. A lot of universities in other states, what the university is subsidizing for athletics comes from your tuition and you may not know.
“The number going to athletes is probably higher than people realize at a lot of places. Here, you see it right up front.”
Virginia’s other Division I schools face similar financial challenges but don’t receive as much in student fees. Old Dominion collects nearly $25 million less, vcu $30 million less and George Mason $32 million less. The University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, as members of the ACC, get nearly $50 million each in conference distributions and consequently charge far less in student fees.
The difference is in emphasis. Athletics are clearly a priority at JMU, located in the nation’s most populous state without a major pro sports franchise."
“The sticker price for one year at James Madison University (JMU) is about $39,376 total, while George Mason University (GMU) totals roughly $39,945 per year before aid for in-state students.”(Google ai).
Not sure where AI is getting those numbers because it’s wildly wrong on the JMU side.
But yes, overall tuition and fees are about the same at Mason and JMU. It’s just that in one instance you’re paying for world class faculty and research facilities and in the other case…a football team (and I say this fully knowing Sofia Samatar teaches at Madison and I love her, but still…)
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