Rolling with the Razorbacks canceled because of cost
Tina Korbe
Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: News
ASG officials said they decided to cancel the 2008 Rollin' with the Razorbacks program because just 42 students signed up to travel to the Auburn game the weekend of Oct. 11, and student fee money could be put toward programs that would benefit more students.
"It was a tough decision for us to make, but the student support just wasn't there," ASG chief of staff Megan Francis said. "We wanted to be responsible with student fee money, so, because of the lack of support, we decided to cancel the program for this year."
The ASG, RIC and the Athletic Department sponsor Rollin' with the Razorbacks. Each year, the program enables up to 100 students to attend an away game at a low cost, ASG officials said.
This year, the price to travel to Auburn would have been $35, up from $25 last year, and the fee would have included transportation to and from the game, a ticket to the game, a T-shirt and a tailgate party, according to ASG officials.
"That's a pretty good deal," said Robyn Hanna, a sophomore majoring in business and English. "That's not even as much as just the gas would be."
The cost to the sponsoring organizations, however, would have been a bit higher.
ASG officials originally anticipated the cost to ASG, RIC and the Athletic Department would be about $165 a student, said Blake Burckart, ASG director of athletic relations.
That conservative estimate was already up from last year because gas prices are higher this year and because Auburn is further away than the 2007 program destination of the University of Mississippi.
With just 42 participants, however, Burckart said the cost of the program would have been higher still - about $225 a student.
That high price ultimately caused ASG officials to call off the trip.
"It's not that we don't want to have the program - we do - but it wouldn't be fiscally responsible," Burckart said.
It would have required the ASG student fee money of 16 students to send one student to Auburn, he said.
"It was a tough decision for us to make, but the student support just wasn't there," ASG chief of staff Megan Francis said. "We wanted to be responsible with student fee money, so, because of the lack of support, we decided to cancel the program for this year."
The ASG, RIC and the Athletic Department sponsor Rollin' with the Razorbacks. Each year, the program enables up to 100 students to attend an away game at a low cost, ASG officials said.
This year, the price to travel to Auburn would have been $35, up from $25 last year, and the fee would have included transportation to and from the game, a ticket to the game, a T-shirt and a tailgate party, according to ASG officials.
"That's a pretty good deal," said Robyn Hanna, a sophomore majoring in business and English. "That's not even as much as just the gas would be."
The cost to the sponsoring organizations, however, would have been a bit higher.
ASG officials originally anticipated the cost to ASG, RIC and the Athletic Department would be about $165 a student, said Blake Burckart, ASG director of athletic relations.
That conservative estimate was already up from last year because gas prices are higher this year and because Auburn is further away than the 2007 program destination of the University of Mississippi.
With just 42 participants, however, Burckart said the cost of the program would have been higher still - about $225 a student.
That high price ultimately caused ASG officials to call off the trip.
"It's not that we don't want to have the program - we do - but it wouldn't be fiscally responsible," Burckart said.
It would have required the ASG student fee money of 16 students to send one student to Auburn, he said.
Be the first to comment on this story