Thread by @NBCNews

College students may be paying thousands in athletic fees and without knowing it, an @NBCNews investigation found. nbcnews.to/2TY9gXq (1/7) #NBCNewsThreads

According to documents obtained by @nbcnews under open records requests, 4 out of 5 of the 230 Division I public universities charge students a fee to finance sports teams. (2/7)

Students may not even see the fee on their tuition bill, and would need to visit the university website, or at some institutions, even file a public records request to find out how much they are being charged to support college athletics. (3/7)

The NCAA requires Division I schools to report their athletic department's revenues and expenses each year. Private universities are not subject to open records requests, but public college records like these are subject to freedom of information laws. (4/7)

Some states or individual schools choose to treat Division 1 athletics as auxiliary enterprises, therefore restricting state funding to athletic programs.

In practice, it means costs wind up charged directly to students. (5/7) nbcnews.to/2TY9gXq

Universities have defended big-time college sports as an investment that pays off in other ways, such as branding, a boost in applications and a lure for major donors. (6/7)

But Allen Sanderson, a University of Chicago sports economist, sees a growing resistance to these fees.

“At some point, the students have to start asking, 'Why am I paying $1,000 to support this football team when I have no interest in going?’” nbcnews.to/2TY9gXq (7/7)