Kristi King, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – March Madness includes schools large and small, especially when you look at their sports budgets.
This year the NCAA tournament includes no Virginia schools with profitable basketball programs. Student athletic fees bolster basketball at most Virginia universities. The fees can add up to more than $1,000 a year.
If you exclude athletic fees imposed on the general student body, The Examiner reports the only commonwealth colleges in the black with their basketball programs are William and Mary, Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia.
Sports programs can attract students to smaller schools.
But rising athletic fees concern a William and Mary faculty member with budget oversight. Terry Meyers tells The Examiner those athletic fees shouldn’t burden students who are already enduring record debt.
This year the only Virginia university teams in the NCAA big dance are James Madison and Virginia Commonwealth.