When students and their families sign tuition checks, most are aware that $65 each quarter goes to help pay for the Ping Center.

But the fee, first implemented in January 1996, funds more than just the Ping Center and could be around long after the center's $26 million construction costs are paid.

OU administrators squelched any doubts about the Ping/recreation fee's future when they proposed to increase it to $69 at the April 17 Board of Trustees meeting. The proposed fee increase, which must be approved by the board at its June meeting, is expected to bring the total amount of fee revenue from $3.4 million to about $3.6 million.

"There will probably be Ping fee increases in the future in relation to tuition and other fee increases," Darrel Winefordner, associate provost for budget and planning, told the Faculty Senate Monday. "The fee has been used in a much broader sense than what most people realize."

The money from the Ping fee never has been earmarked specifically for Ping, but always has been incorporated into the Division of Campus Recreation's budget, said Douglas Franklin, OU assistant dean of recreation and wellness.

"We are more than the Ping Center," Franklin said. "We are a comprehensive recreational program."

This was news to Sabrina Walker, a sophomore sociology/criminology major, but not bad news.

"I'm active in all that stuff, too, so it doesn't bother me," she said.

Jamie Rosenberg, a senior in human resource management, said she wasn't surprised to find out her money was going places she wasn't aware of.

"It seems to me that's the case with a lot of fees with the university," she said.

What's in a name?

In March 1992, Student Senate passed a resolution supporting the construction of a new recreation center and encouraging student participation in the development process.

Student Senate knew students would have to pay $35 to $50 a quarter to pay for the construction, said Greg Mergen, Graduate Student Senate treasurer who proposed the '92 resolution in support of the center.

"To me (the fee) is a guarantee. It shows students where their money is going," he said. "Our problem with it was (the administration) came to us asking for student participation about a $35 to $50 fee, and then it became $65. I don't know where the student participation was."

But Mergen said a recreation fee funding more than just the Ping Center is necessary to ensure recreation activities have steady revenue and are not dependent on the general fund.

The Ping/recreation fee became the Division of Campus Recreation's largest source of revenue when it was first imposed in January 1996. The division, which oversees the Aquatic Center, Bird Arena, club sports, the driving range, fitness programs, the golf course, intramural sports and outdoor facilities, also receives money through rentals and interest from reserve accounts.

Before the Ping/recreation fee, most facilities generated their own funds.

"When the 'Ping' fee was first imposed, then-Provost David Stewart and I were concerned that students were going to be paying this fee and also paying fees for use of other recreational services on campus, most notably, the Aquatic Center," OU President Robert Glidden said via e-mail.

Glidden said he and Stewart instructed Franklin to eliminate charges to get into facilities such as the Aquatic Center and Bird Arena. Money from the university general fund would help cover those costs.

This is the fourth year in a five-year agreement to allot $100,000 from the general fund to the Division of Campus Recreation.

Administrators wanted to see how much Ping would cost to operate before deciding a long-term way to pay for additional costs, Glidden said.

The provisions of the bond issue which financed the Ping Center already required the university to have a specific fee to cover the annual $1.8 million bond payments.

The 1991-92 Student Senate supported a fee that would provide $45 to pay the $1.8 million annual debt charge and $20 for operation of the center, said Chad Tanner, Student Senate president.

Glidden said the fee was an opportunity to consolidate other recreational fees, such as admission for the Aquatic Center, to make it less expensive and less of a hassle of paying separate fees.

"While we knew we were doing the right thing by eliminating these other charges, some people would have misconstrued that and thought, 'Ah-ha,' they're including other stuff in order to justify a bigger fee," Glidden said. "There was nothing secretive about any of this."

Where does the money go?

According to the preliminary 1998-99 budget, the Division of Campus Recreation is expected to spend almost $4.5 million next year.

The Division of Campus Recreation spent $4.25 million this year, including about $3 million on Ping Center-related charges.

In addition to paying for increases in Ping's operating budget, the $69 fee will provide $32,000 to club sports, which had been funded by the Student Activities Commission, and $20,000 in social programming, which includes activities meant to "divert activity from Court Street," Winefordner told the OU Board of Trustees and Faculty Senate.

"The complaint I always hear is there's nothing to do in this town," Franklin said.

Individual facilities and departments are responsible for their own programs. The Ping Center has put on several this year, such as Hoot 'n' Anny and Pingapalooza.

Next year, club sports will receive $32,000 directly from the Ping/recreation fee. Although Campus Recreation oversaw club sports' activities in the past, funding for the OU Club Sports Council came from SAC.

Laura Reding, director of club sports, said having club sports funded under the Division of Campus Recreation might not be the best opportunity for the organization to apply for additional funds.

"The $32,000 we're getting this year will be close to the most we ever received under SAC," she said. "But we won't be able to ask for additional funds."

What about the future?

The division also will be able to budget $100,000 for reserves, Franklin said. Ideally, he would like to save 5 percent of his budget, or $200,000, to pay for unexpected repairs. The reserve currently stands around $500,000.

Tanner said the reserves are necessary to keep the center and the equipment in its current condition.

"We have a first-class, state-of-the-art facility that is, in my opinion, the best in the MAC," he said. "If we want to keep the quality that we have, we need money available for the future."

According to Ping Center's internal plan for future replacements, most of the center's computers, fax machines and copiers are scheduled for replacement in three years.

By 2010, about 50 workout machines, including machines for arm and leg curls, shoulder presses, back extensions and abdominal crunches will be replaced. That translates into more than $100,000 in today's costs.

- Chris Shott and Kaci Brown

contributed to this story