NIU students paid over three times more for athletics than any academic program last year, The Northern Star has found.

The $4.2 million in tuition and student athletic fees for 16 sports teams is more than all other academic departments. The combined psychology and educational psychology departments came in a distant second, using $1.54 million of student money.

President John La Tourette would not discuss the findings, and deferred comment to Eddie Williams, director of finance and planning.

Williams said the numbers were high, but that academic departments should not attack athletics to get a bigger piece of the tuition pie.

“We don’t want to become cannibals (and) start feeding on ourselves,” Williams said.

Williams said NIU is trying to lessen the load on students by selling more tickets through promotions and by playing good teams.

Already, the NCAA has given NIU $180,177 from a $1 billion contract signed with CBS. Also, Williams said athletics shaved 6 percent off the $2.4 million of tuition money used for sports last year.

“We’re headed in the right direction,” Williams said. “(Sports) success helps, but that is not all of it.”

However, the athletic fee was raised from $99 to $108 this year. Also, only $800,000 of athletic’s $4.85 million budget last year came from non-student funds like donations, TV revenues and ticket sales.

A full-time student paid about $210 in tuition and student fees for athletics last year. Over 80 percent of the athletic budget came from students last year.

J. Carroll Moody, executive secretary of the faculty senate, said he was surprised “at the magnitude” of tuition money going toward athletics. He also said athletic spending could be an issue at the next faculty senate meeting.

Only tuition and student fees from last year’s budget requests were used to compare athletics with academics. NIU’s governing board, the Board of Regents, does not allow tax money to go toward the athletic department.

Money coming from state taxes pays for about 60 percent of academic programs.

The high athletic spending comes at a time when budget restraints have caused hiring freezes, cuts in classes and few raises for faculty.

But Williams cautioned against attacking the athletic department when times get tough.

“You have to give them (athletics) a chance to get rolling,” he said. “You don’t just go in and rip the rug from under them.”