Each year, as part of the budgeting process, the legislature determines how much total MAP money will be appropriated. The total pot of MAP money is limited — once it runs out, it’s out, regardless of how many students are still in need. And as tuition and fees at UI, as well as Illinois’ other public universities, have continued to rise, the need for MAP grants has grown.

“We give the money until there’s no money left,” said State Senator Scott Bennett, whose district includes UI, “and there’s still people with their hands out (who need) that money.”

But where do the luxury boxes come in?

According to Dan Mann, the director of financial aid at UI, MAP money is restricted to paying for tuition and fees. The students receive their semester bills, and “those charges are all put on an account that is in the student’s name,” he said.

The student’s bill includes charges for all mandatory fees, which includes the General Fee. Inside the General Fee are the fees used for paying off the loans for the renovations of the football and basketball stadiums, which were used for building luxury suites and premium seating. Think of it like a Russian doll of fees, each one nested inside another.

According to Mann, the student’s university bill then works just like a credit card bill. Payments don’t go towards specific items; they simply lower the total amount owed. When students receive financial aid, it works just like any other payment. “The financial aid they receive is put against that account,” said Mann.

So when MAP grants come in, the money is used to pay for everything — athletic stadium renovations included.

“The problem … is, that means that money which I think everybody assumes is going toward the cost of tuition would also go in some part to those fees which include athletic facilities,” said State Senator Scott Bennett. “I think that would really surprise legislators who really fight for this money.”

Of course, the new suites and premium seating serve a purpose other than just allowing a few fans to sit in luxury. They also generate additional revenue through their sales. But that revenue doesn’t go to the university; it all goes to athletics. Athletics then uses the additional revenue to hire more staff, pay coaches more money, and build and remodel even more facilities. Which then, they hope, generates even more revenue, all of which again goes to athletics.

And round and round it goes.

Many people argue that these improvements help the teams win more games, which in turn, they say, will produce more money for the university by way of increased donations. But that’s a myth that was long ago debunked by researchers.

“The studies we have on it do not sustain a clear relationship between athletic success and donations (to the institution),” said Andrew Zimbalist, a professor of sports economics at Smith College.

But there are aspects of the renovations that do provide something for the students. Everyone, students and non-students alike, shares in the enjoyment of new scoreboards, more concession stands, and in the case of the basketball stadium, new seats throughout. But in order to take advantage of those benefits, which every student is paying for, a student also has to buy a ticket to a game.