MTSU Student Government Association rails against a mandatory fee increase to fund athletics – MTSU Sidelines

The MTSU Board of Trustees Finance and Personnel Committee voted on May 20 to propose a $97.50 increase in mandatory fees for the upcoming academic year. More than half of the increase would be allocated to MTSU Athletics. 

MTSU’s Student Government Organization said in a statement posted on Instagram that it was  “deeply concerned” with the proposal, while Chris Massaro, Director of Athletics, said the additional funds will benefit not just student athletes, but everyone at MTSU. 

“Unlike every other department or office that submitted a fee request, the Athletic Department did not engage with students or the SGA at any point during this process,” SGA said in their official press release.

Something RJ Ware, current student body president, fears has turned into a trend.

Ware said the Athletics Department did the same thing in 2023. A letter by the then Student Body President, Michai Mosby, highlighted the same issues mentioned in the 2025 statement.

“We note that a large portion of this mandatory fee increase can be attributed to Athletics,” the letter said. “This is a special concern to our students for at least two reasons … It has been a longstanding practice at MTSU that departments proposing an increase to a mandatory student fee first bring the proposal to the SGA Executive Board.”

Chris Massaro, Director of Athletics at MTSU, said he regretted not taking it to the students before making the proposition, but did so because he was unaware of how much money Athletics needed when SGA questioned different colleges.

“At the time, I didn’t know what to ask for,” Massaro said. “I knew we would need some help with all the balls we had up in the air.” 

He added that the final number came from the planning and finance committee, not Athletics.

Massaro said he asked President Sidney A. McPhee and Alan Thomas, vice president of business and finance, for the increase. 

“So they know, kinda, that we wanted the fee put together,” Massaro said. “I don’t know what the formulas were on that in terms of why it ended up at 64 as opposed to 65 or 25.”

He pointed out that colleges that partner with athletics will also benefit, like the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, the School of Journalism and Strategic Media, the College of Basic Applied Sciences and the School of Business.

Massaro also wanted to remind students that the public comment period is still open. 

Most of the funds will go toward making the aging Murphy Center more ADA compliant. Something Ware and Massaro both agree needs to happen.  

Massaro said he did not know how much of the mandatory fee increase would go toward the Murphy Center and how much toward Athletics. 

Ware said he did not think that the athletic department did anything nefarious; he just hopes that the department will be more transparent in the future.

What do student athletes think?

“I’d love to see that money go toward creating a dining hall specifically for student athletes,” senior soccer player Yana Yordanova said. “Having a place where we can eat for free with access to nutritious, high-quality meals would make a huge difference in our performance, recovery and overall well-being. It would also build a stronger sense of community among athletes among sports.”

Another athlete, sophomore running back Jekail Middlebrook, also wants nutrition to be a priority if the extra funding is approved.  

“I would like to see the money go into better nutrition for the student athletes. Some athletics may need updated equipment, or even just putting dollars in our student athletes’ pockets.” Middlebrook said.

The Board of Trustees is set to vote on the increase on June 17. All meetings are free and open to the public.

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