• Hi Guest, want to participate in the discussions, keep track of read/unread posts access private forums and more? Create your free account and increase the benefits of your eGriz.com experience today!

It happenin

That is what I'm afraid of. I am very against the idea of Montana kids taking out loans to give that money to the University to fund a move up.

The BoR and OCHE have also been strongly against increasing fees for well over a decade, to my understanding. It has been a minute since I was in school, but I helped shepherd a small fee of something like $15 per student per semester, and it was like pulling teeth even when the student body itself was the one asking for the fee to increase.
Honestly, Universities already charge more than they need to. What's another $2k per semester?

Hell, when I was a student at UM 12 years ago, I had a summer internship my senior year out in Seattle. The university still charged me that summer a couple thousand dollars for campus maintenance fees, student fees, other campus fees, etc.. I tried to fight the charges by making the case that I wasn't even utilizing the campus at all. Needless to say, they had no sympathy and said I still had to pay it.
 
I understand what you're saying, but I think a $400/semester increase is kind of a drop in the bucket. There would be some pushback, but good things cost money. Forgive the analogy, but it kind of feels like we are stuck in the long-passed era of expecting $3.00 2-egg breakfasts.
I think the pushback is much greater than you think.
 
I think the pushback is much greater than you think.
Cost for a 4-year degree (in state) at UM is $115,624.00 based on their website.

I'm not sure what the students' opinion on an increase would be...

Parents aren't going to like it...

UM faculty will despise it if funding football...

Those loaning money to students will LOVE it.
 
Cost for a 4-year degree (in state) at UM is $115,624.00 based on their website.

I'm not sure what the students' opinion on an increase would be...

Parents aren't going to like it...

UM faculty will despise it if funding football...

Those loaning money to students will LOVE it.
No way it's that expensive to attend UM for a 4-year degree (in state). From UM's website, this is what I found:

In-state:
- $8,546 a year when you take 12 or more credits per semester
- $8,546 x 4 = $34,184

Out-of-state:
- $33,664 a year when you take 12 or more credits per semester
- $33,664 x 4 = $134,656

***EDIT - You are correct. $28,906 per year includes tuition, fees, on-campus housing and food, books and supplies, to total $115k in 4 years. This assumes though that a student lives on campus all four years. If you live off campus, that reduces some of the cost. But holy hell, I can't imagine paying $115k. I only had like $28k to pay off when I was finished, and that was five years and no scholarships.
 
Last edited:
No way it's that expensive to attend UM for a 4-year degree (in state). From UM's website, this is what I found:

In-state:
- $8,546 a year when you take 12 or more credits per semester
- $8,546 x 4 = $34,184

Out-of-state:
- $33,664 a year when you take 12 or more credits per semester
- $33,664 x 4 = $134,656
That's just tuition, I'd imagine UM's website has other costs built in, as well (books, housing, transportation, food, etc.)
 
No way it's that expensive to attend UM for a 4-year degree (in state). From UM's website, this is what I found:

In-state:
- $8,546 a year when you take 12 or more credits per semester
- $8,546 x 4 = $34,184

Out-of-state:
- $33,664 a year when you take 12 or more credits per semester
- $33,664 x 4 = $134,656
You are using just the tuition/fees while soldier is using the total direct/indirect costs to including housing/meals etc.
 
Cost for a 4-year degree (in state) at UM is $115,624.00 based on their website.

I'm not sure what the students' opinion on an increase would be...

Parents aren't going to like it...

UM faculty will despise it if funding football...

Those loaning money to students will LOVE it.
The cost of tuition and fees for a 4 year degree is $34,184. You are quoting the full cost of attendance which includes a healthy estimate for all indirect costs such as housing/food/transportation and $2600 dollars a year in miscellaneous funds. Are you saying $34,984 is that much different over 4 years?

I sure would have loved for my parents to fund $80,000 for my time in Missoula while I was at school. If they did I’m sure they wouldn’t have sneezed at an extra $800 over 4 years in athletic fees. Instead I paid for my own tuition and housing and as a broke college student went to the large amount of games my student athletic fees paid for as my source of entertainment. As a paying adult it seems like quite a bargain that I got access to so many football, basketball, soccer, softball games and some concerts for such a cheap price. Also seems pretty sad that other students didn’t take advantage of those opportunities.

What’s even crazier is the students pay approximately twice the athletics fees each for the UC alone, campus rec, technology and facility fees.

 
I understand what you're saying, but I think a $400/semester increase is kind of a drop in the bucket. There would be some pushback, but good things cost money. Forgive the analogy, but it kind of feels like we are stuck in the long-passed era of expecting $3.00 2-egg breakfasts.
OK, so you get an additional $7 million from student athletic fees, say another $4 million from media, and another $3 million for FBS game guarantees. You are maybe halfway to what would get you to the lowest athletic budget in the MWC.
 
Also here is a great economic article on move up and the potential institutions for the MWC and the PAC. Looks like the Montanas are a lot closer than some of the other suitors except for a handful of established and successful FBS programs that already said no.


“While geography plays a smaller role in conference realignment these days, it is worth noting that some schools are geographically closer to existing Pac-12 and Mountain West members than those members are to each other. In the Pac-12, the average distance between teams is 596 miles. Idaho, Sacramento State, Montana, and Montana State are all closer, with average distances to existing Pac-12 teams ranging from 485 to 521 miles. Mountain West teams are typically further apart, partly due to Hawaii's inclusion, with an average distance of 1,248 miles between teams. Sacramento State, New Mexico State, Montana State, UTEP, Idaho, and Montana are all closer, with distances ranging from 810 to 1,043 miles.


Realignment could also renew historic rivalries or spark new ones. New Mexico State and UTEP have longstanding rivalries with Mountain West member New Mexico. Idaho, a former FBS team, shares historic rivalries with in-state Boise State and nearby Washington State. Expanding with FCS schools could also introduce classic rivalry games to the Pac-12 or Mountain West, including staples like the Brawl of the Wild (Montana vs. Montana State) and the Dakota Marker (North Dakota State vs. South Dakota State), both of which have been recently featured on College Gameday.“
 
I understand what you're saying, but I think a $400/semester increase is kind of a drop in the bucket. There would be some pushback, but good things cost money. Forgive the analogy, but it kind of feels like we are stuck in the long-passed era of expecting $3.00 2-egg breakfasts.
I would disapprove of such a high fee. I sent a son to UM and would not like to pay this fee on top of of state tuition in the 2003 -2007 time period.
 
No way it's that expensive to attend UM for a 4-year degree (in state). From UM's website, this is what I found:

In-state:
- $8,546 a year when you take 12 or more credits per semester
- $8,546 x 4 = $34,184

Out-of-state:
- $33,664 a year when you take 12 or more credits per semester
- $33,664 x 4 = $134,656

***EDIT - You are correct. $28,906 per year includes tuition, fees, on-campus housing and food, books and supplies, to total $115k in 4 years. This assumes though that a student lives on campus all four years. If you live off campus, that reduces some of the cost. But holy hell, I can't imagine paying $115k. I only had like $28k to pay off when I was finished, and that was five years and no scholarships.
But see, this is precisely why the "cost" to attend college is grossly overinflated. Over that four year period if he/she wasn't in school, that 18-22 year old would still need to live somewhere. And eat food. To include that into the cost of a college education is silly. Those are costs to stay alive.
 
I understand what you're saying, but I think a $400/semester increase is kind of a drop in the bucket. There would be some pushback, but good things cost money. Forgive the analogy, but it kind of feels like we are stuck in the long-passed era of expecting $3.00 2-egg breakfasts.
I think I can probably say that perhaps I am stuck in a past mentality for cost, I'd say that is a fair critique to a degree. I just have a problem with Montana kids taking out loans to pay that money toward athletic fees. I don't like that other schools do it worse, and I don't want us to start trying to keep up with that. I don't want to write a book about it here, but I have many thoughts on that subject. It may not seem like a lot, but I just have an issue with the idea as a whole.

From my experience and understanding of where MUS funding has been within the state, there is not an appetite for increasing the fees. Or the tuition, for that matter. I think that would be dead on arrival, in our University system and legislature, though I understand that you are talking about what ought to be rather than trying to argue about what the political scene around it is like.

I'm open to the idea of moving up if a G5 playoff is on the table, but the more I'm asking or hearing about it, the more it sounds like this just isn't a financial reality for us. Especially when you throw in the NIL requirements, we just aren't there, or even close to there.
 
But see, this is precisely why the "cost" to attend college is grossly overinflated. Over that four year period if he/she wasn't in school, that 18-22 year old would still need to live somewhere. And eat food. To include that into the cost of a college education is silly. Those are costs to stay alive.
Still average student loan debt is about $40,000.

The issue for most is the income side of the equation. Vast majority of full time students are not working full time...if they are working at all.

It's friggin expensive EG - regardless of how you do the math.
 
Cost for a 4-year degree (in state) at UM is $115,624.00 based on their website.

I'm not sure what the students' opinion on an increase would be...

Parents aren't going to like it...

UM faculty will despise it if funding football...

Those loaning money to students will LOVE it.
Ouch, cost me about $8000 for 5-year degree. Lol
 
Still average student loan debt is about $40,000.

The issue for most is the income side of the equation. Vast majority of full time students are not working full time...if they are working at all.

It's friggin expensive EG - regardless of how you do the math.
Oh I get it. College educations are far too expensive. But that doesn't change the fact that rent and food shouldn't be included in the stated costs.
 
Back
Top