After a successful 2025-26 year for WVU Athletics, the university plans to double its Mountaineer Athletics Advantage Fee from $125 to $250 this coming year, as announced by the Board of Governors Friday. Read more: WVU is raising the Mountaineer Athletics Advantage Fee; where does the money go?
The Mountaineer Athletics Advantage Fee was introduced last year as a mandatory payment for a large majority of students enrolled at WVU.
The goal of the fee is to raise funds that support WVU student-athletes and the future success of WVU Athletics.
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While the increase is not substantial, it is reasonable for students to be concerned about rising costs. Here is what was found in the fees Q&A to help you understand where your money is going.
About the fee
The Mountaineer Athletics Advantage Fee is issued to undergraduate, graduate and professional students enrolled in any number of credit hours on the Morgantown Campus during the fall and spring terms.
The fee is not directly added to tuition. It is issued as a separate item in the student’s University tuition and fees during both the fall and the spring semesters.
The fee is mandatory for these students and cannot be waived. If students have financial aid that is specifically used for tuition and fees, such as tuition waivers, the fee may not be covered by this aid.
The fee also does not guarantee students will receive tickets to athletic events. Therefore, Mountaineer Maniac membership or the lottery system remains as a way for students to request tickets to events such as football and men’s basketball. A WVU ID can be used to gain free entry to other on-campus athletic events.
The fee is excluded for those who are WVU Online students, High School ACCESS, WVU Institute of Technology, WVU Potomac State College, Graduate Assistants, Senior Citizens, Employees, Exchange Students, and Professional Development students.
How the money is spent
Remaining competitive in a top D1 athletic conference is expensive. And right now, the university says it is experiencing an escalation in expenses.
The university believes that athletics is a core part of the student experience. That is why it is asking students to contribute to the fee.
The university states on the Q&A page that:
“Strong athletics is now mission-critical in increasing enrollment, enhancing our institutional reputation and brand identity, and amplifying momentum on the national stage.”
The fee helps WVU reach the $20.5 million cap it is allowed to pay student athletes for NIL and related services. This cap was set in the House v. NCAA settlement.
The settlement allows schools to pay up to 22% of their average media, ticket and sponsorship revenue to student-athletes.
WVU states in the Q&A that it is pursuing “increased sponsorships, additional fundraising efforts, a reallocation of expenses within Athletics, [and] enhanced university support” in addition to the Mountaineer Athletics Advantage Fee to reach the cap.
The $20.5 million cap and the 22% permissive cap reflects the average earnings of schools within the Big 12, as well as the ACC, Big 10 and SEC.
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Potential future increases
The Q&A states that “the cap is set to increase by 4% annually and will be recalibrated every three years.”
Because of this, the university will determine the amount for the Mountaineer Athletics Advantage Fee annually. It is possible it could at some point increase again. Nothing was found that suggests it will increase next year or in the coming years.
Despite the increase, WVU remains one of the cheaper schools in terms of undergraduate enrollment cost across the Big 12.
Overall, WVU proved to be a strong competitor. That is both in the Big 12 and nationally across multiple sports this academic year. It is clear the university values maintaining that success. They want to ensure it meets the revenue to survive the growing landscape of NIL in college athletics today.
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I think to raise this fee by 100% is hideous. You are forcing students who don’t even participate in sports or even follow them to help pay for other athletes NIL $$$$$. You say the increase is not substantial, but you assume all students have spare change just laying around. With the “MAC”, revenue sharing , boosters and Alumni giving and the WVU “Day of Giving” that raises over 22 million you should be giving students refunds instead of hurting them with xtra fees!!!!! Even with this xtra fees they still have to pay to get into certain sports events……maybe the university should look at who controlling the $$$$$ and if there is waste involved. Over 40 mil should be way more than enough. And many athletes don’t even pay for most of their education cause they get scholarships. Do better…..you will get more support if you do.