Money is tight, but Devin Marmon is getting by. Like many college students, the freshman engineering major is financing his education with student loans, so for now, he doesn't pay too much attention to increases in tuition.
What Marmon and many other students didn't know that the part of their education dollars that goes to the athletic department has increased 300 percent in the last five years.
This summer, the Tennessee Board of Regents approved The University of Memphis's request to double the student athletic fee. It is now $400 annually - up from $100 in 2003.
If Marmon graduates in four years, he will owe $1,600 of his student debt - $2,300 after 10 years of interest - to student athletic fees.
Part-time students are disproportionately affected by the increase because The University considers six credit hours as full-time for fee payment purposes.
Athletic Director RC Johnson said the increase was needed to cover rising travel expenses, growing scholarship costs and Title IX compliance.
Johnson said The University polled other colleges prior to the fee increase and found the fee at The U of M is not as high as many other schools.
But The U of M now has the highest athletic fee of all TBR schools - the closest followers are Middle Tennessee State University, Austin Peay State University and Tennessee Tech University, each at $250 annually.
In March 2007, the average athletic fee at Conference USA schools was $164 - The University of Southern Mississippi. had the highest at $375 - according to a study done by The U of M Business and Finance Office.
The student athletic fee has increased more than any other student fee at The U of M.
The fee increase at The U of M is part of a national trend of increased student support for athletic departments that are spending more and making less.
"The great majority of people think that sports bring money into the university, but in fact, it's usually the other way around," said Amy Perko of the Knight Commission, an NCAA watchdog group.
Even powerhouse athletic departments are finding it increasingly difficult to break even.
According to NCAA data, only 22 athletic departments competing in Division I were profitable 2005.
Johnson said according to NCAA president Myles Brand, only 12 schools had profitable athletic departments in 2007.
Expenditures at The U of M athletic department have nearly doubled since 1999 from $15.7 million to $31 million.
The boom in athletic spending has prompted some states to pass laws preventing universities from spending taxpayer money on athletics.
Charles Lee, U?of M vice president of finance, said Tennessee has limited general fund expenditures on athletics to a little over $2 million, but currently they are only using $1.8 million.
Lacking other revenue sources, the athletics department is relying increasingly on student fees.
"Basically, we have three major sources of revenue," Johnson said. "First is football and basketball - the two revenue sports - second is donations and third is student fees."
According to NCAA financial reports in 2006, U of M football brought in $5.1 million in revenue from ticket sales, conference proceeds and other sources, but they spent $7.1 million - for an overall loss of $2 million.
Men's basketball made a profit, but despite $4.6 million in revenue, they spent all but $219,923.
The U of M athletics department's reliance on student fees is increasing.
In 2002, 8 percent of the athletic department's budget came from students, but that percentage has tripled and now students are paying for 25 percent, of the athletic departments expenses.
The athletics fee isn't listed anywhere on The University website or tuition statement, leaving many students unaware of the increases.
Lee said he was unaware that the fees were not listed on the Web site and said he has taken it on as his "personal responsibility" to clarify it.
David Zettergren, the assistant vice president for finance, said The University seeks feedback from students on athletic fees.
"All these program fees get discussed with the students. We usually get input from the students, but the reality is, sometimes a lot of students don't pay a whole lot of attention to that," Zettergren said.
Lee said that before the increase was proposed to TBR, he discussed it with two groups of 35-40 students, but it was never brought to a vote for approval in the SGA.
According to Zettergren, The University doesn't break tuition down into individual fee components on statements in order to keep billing simple.
"Most parents just want to pay one amount and know that everything is taken care of," Zettergren said. "If it is very long or complicated, you get ignored and people don't read it. If you give them all that detail, it just frustrates them."
Grady Bogue, former LSU interim chancellor and co-author of a Tennessee Higher Education Commission study on athletic spending, said that in some states, the money from student fees that funds athletics is discussed publicly and specified in the budget so students know what they are paying.
But in other states, the process is less transparent, Bogue said
"In Tennessee, presidents and staffs take money from student fees to support athletics, but the precise amount is unknown," Bogue said. "It may vary from a couple hundred dollars to much higher amounts."
"It gives universities a way to take a little money in a pinch" if they see that the athletic department falls short on revenue from ticket sales or other sources, Bogue said.
"I say pay on top of the table, and let the sun shine on it," Bogue said. "But that was resisted by university presidents, and we were never able to pull it off."
