If you’re one of NIU’s 25,000-plus students who makes a tradition of tailgating with your vehicle outside Huskie Stadium before home football games, you better be willing to fork over $50 – and fast.

Otherwise, your tailgating vehicle won’t be allowed on the lawn outside of the stadium.

As part of NIU’s genius plan to exploit last season’s football success – and the team’s popularity with students – the NIU athletics department is forcing students who wish to tailgate with their vehicles outside of the stadium to first join the new Huskie Club for $25. Once you are a member, you can purchase one of the 125 allotted student parking passes for an additional $25.

The rest of the spots are reserved for season ticket holders who make an additional financial contribution. Once again, it all comes down to money.

Students and other Huskies fans still can tailgate with their cars anywhere else, but the pass is required to park on the lawn. Students without vehicles are free to tailgate on the lawn as space permits. But seasoned tailgaters will tell you a vehicle is essential for transporting the coolers, chairs and barbecue grills necessary for the tailgating experience.

Sure, not everyone tailgates – but those who do shouldn’t be forced to pay to do so.

If you’re one of the 125 students who has a membership and pass to tailgate with your car, feel lucky. You’ve just made yourself thousands of friends who won’t want to park miles away just to tailgate with their cars. If you’re one of the rest of the students, you’d better get to know someone who has a pass. Otherwise, Huskie Stadium will be nothing more than a distant view as you tailgate with your vehicle in a parking lot on the other end of campus.

School spirit at NIU has risen to tremendous levels over the past years, and administrators are doing nothing more than taking advantage of financially-burdened students.

While other schools have been successful in charging students for tailgating spaces, these schools already have well-established fan bases. With just one year of skyrocketing success under its belt, Huskie football can hardly boast a “well-established” fan base.

NIU officials need to rethink the $50 cost of prime tailgating spots. The new ploy serves only to alienate fans and deter them from coming out to support their team. An established fan base at NIU can’t be built without the fans, so let students show their school spirit free of charge.