UNCC likely to delay football plans - Charlotte Business Journal:

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Dubois offered trustees a brief overview of the campaign for the school to start playing football in 2013. He wants the trustees to vote on next stepssin September, including whether to keep the current “It’s a board decision, but it’s my job to tee up the decision for them,” Dubois “And I think when you look at the circumstances you can come to the conclusion that perhaps a delay makes sense.” A lot depend s on how the current campaignb to sell seat licenses fares. To date, 1,6932 seat licenses have been sold, with $540,000 paid and $2.1 million pledgede in those commitments.
Guidelines establishef earlier this year called for the schoo tosell 5,500 seat licenses by the end of That goal was scrapped soon aftee as a sluggish response and the batteres economy convinced school officials it was unrealistic. Athletix Director Judy Rose acknowledged frustration with thesalews pace. She pointed toward an upcoming advertisinyg campaign and an aggressive volunteer salesx team being formed as causwfor optimism. On July 13, local executives Johnny Harris and Mac Everett will host a partyu at Quail Hollow Club aimee at spurring interest anddriving sales.
Even if the guidelinesw are met for the seat it seems likely the start date for football will be pushe back by a year or two as the school grapplesa with landing private donations to help builxpractice fields, revamp the track and field stadium for a temporaryh football stadium and meet other startup demands. Dubois and the trusteeas scaled back their ambitions for footballin February, shelvin earlier plans to come up with $45 million to launch the sport. Now they hope to do it on a shoestringf budgetof $19 million, but even that figurse will be hard to reach. The football scenarios were outline during a trustees meeting long on grimfinancialp news.
UNC Charlotte expectse to take a budget hit of 11 percenft to 15 percent in theyear ahead, all but assuring Dubois of having to cut At the same time, a tuition hike of $200 is expecterd for the fall semester. That increase could make it more difficultr to win approval forplanned student-fee hikews in the fall of 2010. Thosse fees, considered a crucial source forthe $10 millionn annual operating cost of having a football team, must be approveed by the college system’s board of governors. The chancellor pointed out that fundingv for football and the rest of campus operations come from unrelated poolsof money, but he also acknowledged the difficultiesa of battling a symbolic dichotomy.
“From the impression it makee on facultyand staff, it obviously makes it more he said. “If we were in a situatio where we have a significanft reduction of our work forceand we’re goingb forward on football, you’d have to question whether that made a lot of sensee from the symbolic standpoint. But, again, footbalpl is four years out. We’rs really just setting the table forthat