By Kirk Laughlin

The Senate of the Student Government Association was called to an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss the controversial reinstallation of the University of Louisville student athletics fee.

On Feb. 21, the Board of Trustees voted to extend the student athletics fee from 50 dollars a year to 50 dollars a semester without any consultation of the student Senate.

In May 2002, the Board of Trustees approved a measure instituting the athletic fee and had the fee “sunset” in July 2006.

The measure also stated that any adjustment of the fee would be “presented to the Student Senate prior to any action by the Board of Trustees.”

However, there is a conflict with the “sunset clause.”

Athletic Director Tom Jurich’s employment contract states, “In academic year 2005-06 [the athletic fee] will be $50 per student per year. Thereafter, such fee shall not be less than $50 per student per year.”

“The athletic fee in and of itself is not the issue,” said Student body President Darrell Messer, a senior engineering major.

“My frustration is with the process being used,” Messer said.

At the emergency meeting, the Senate unanimously passed Resolution 22 which called for the university to itemize tuition bills so that students can see what they are paying for.

In the 2005-06 fiscal year, the athletics fee roughly made up $1.85 million of the nearly $41.9 million in revenues for the athletics department, according to the athletic association’s source of funds report.

The resolution also called for the creation of a task force made up of students and faculty to evaluate the current student athletics fee.

Messer said the resolution is “an important first step to establish official positions on where the SGA will stand.”

“The major issue is that this pledge by the Board of Trustees was ignored,” said Matt Flairty, an Arts and Sciences Senator and junior political science major.

“This is about the right to discuss the issue, not necessarily the issue itself,” Flairty said.

The Cardinal contacted several university administrators, but have yet to receive comments back from some of them regarding the athletics fee.