Clemson tuition to increase with students athletic fee for first time

(This story was updated to add new information.)

CLEMSON — Clemson students will be charged a new athletic fee starting next fall semester.

During Clemson’s Board of Trustees meeting on Friday, Clemson athletic director Graham Neff proposed a $150 per semester ($300 a year) athletic fee for students that will be used “solely for athletic-operation expenses directly associated with student-athlete services and student experiences.” Ten of the school’s 13 Board of Trustees approved the proposal, with Nikki Haley, Louis Lynn and Robert Peeler voting against it, and the fee will be added to students’ tuition in Fall 2025.

“Our athletics department continues to aggressively explore all available options for generating revenue, both short and long-term,” a Clemson spokesperson said in a statement. “This includes record-breaking fundraising efforts and innovative business strategies to help even the financial playing field of intercollegiate athletics and support all 21 varsity sports and 600 student athletes.”

Neff emphasized the revenue generated from the athletic fee does not tie into name, image and likeness. He said Clemson is the only NCAA Division I public university without an athletic fee and added most Power 4 schools either charge a student fee or require students to purchase game tickets.

Clemson students receive free access to sporting events, including half of the Tigers’ home football games. Students have two options for football games: season tickets or a single game lottery. For basketball, baseball and other sports, students can enter free with a valid Clemson University ID.

Clemson discussed charging students an athletic fee in the past under athletic director Dan Radakovich, but it faced pushback and was never proposed. However, with the addition of new sports, like gymnastics and lacrosse, revenue sharing on the horizon and uncertainty with conference affiliation, Clemson decided to push for an athletic fee this year.

Last year, the university could have generated $8.624 million if the fee was applied as Clemson’s total enrollment was 28,747 (22,875 undergraduate and 5,872 graduates). According to the Knight-Newhouse college athletic database, Clemson’s athletics operating expenses were $174,276,658 in 2023 and have increased each year since 2021.

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Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

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