but, it could just as easily be characterized as adjusting the fee to true value based on the interest of the individual student. Kids that want to be guaranteed a ticket as opposed to participating in a lottery have another option. Railing against fees that other states do not charge ignores the other differences in structure among states. Virginia, unlike North Carolina, Illinois and multiple other states does not subsidize athletic programs(mostly facilities) with general tax dollars so the fact Virginia schools create a revenue source through athletic fees while others get their revenue source from the general fund is largely irrelevant. This is what makes it challenging to make a statement that one program is doing better than another merely by cherry picking one particular revenue source to exclude. VT's student fees are low relative to other Virginia institutions and do not constitute as significant a source to the program as a whole as they do at some other schools. The athletic fee also covers other things than just free student tickets and just like other fees charged to students it is irrelevant as to whether they are optional. It is the student's choice as to how fully they utilize and take advantage of the opportunities the fee provides. An ala carte pricing model would be an administrative nightmare.