For the first time in more than 30 years, the University of Colorado is looking to increase the athletics fee for students.

At the board of regents meeting on Thursday, Chad Marturano, the chief financial officer of the University of Colorado system, gave a presentation outlining several budget and fee proposals for the 2025-26 fiscal year, including the athletics fee.

CU is proposing that the fee, currently $28.50 per semester, be increased to $90 per semester beginning this fall. That would apply to all undergraduate students except current residents who will continue at CU in the fall. Graduate students do not pay an athletics fee.

The board of regents will vote on the proposal in April.

According to Marturano, the fee increase is supported by the CU Boulder Student Fee Advisory Board. The fee could increase to $130 per semester by the 2027-28 fiscal year.

Revenue from that fee increase would go towards scholarships for women’s sports, as well as to support non-revenue sports.

CU has had the same $28.50-per-semester fee since 1994 and that is one of the lowest fees among its peers. Marturano provided numbers comparing CU’s fees to those of seven other in-state four-year public schools and to the other 15 Big 12 Conference schools.

According to the numbers, CU’s fee is the lowest in the state, with Metro State University of Denver ($50 per semester) and Colorado State ($120.61) having the next-lowest fees. CSU Pueblo ($243.75) has the highest fee, followed by UC-Colorado Springs ($180), Fort Lewis ($159), Western Colorado University ($147.36) and Colorado School of Mines ($125).

In the Big 12, CU’s current fee of $28.50 is near the bottom. Kansas State eliminated student fees in 2019, while information for three private schools (Baylor, BYU and TCU) was not available, Marturano said.