Advancement · School Operations · Athletics

What fee covers
the season?

List what the season costs and what the budget and boosters cover. The calculator spreads the rest across the athletes who pay, after waivers, and tests a proposed fee against it.

Set the feeWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the School operations toolkit, $49 for 52 items.

The participation fee calculator

The worked example is made-up high school fall sports. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

Advancement · School Operations$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
Cost per participant, the amount fees must cover, the break-even fee per paying athlete, and what a proposed fee would raise and leave short, with each cost per participant for the board packet.
Who it is for
Athletic directors, school and district administrators, business officers and school board members reviewing a fee.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the School operations toolkit ($49) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The School Operations space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. List every cost for the season or the year.
  2. Type budget support and booster, gate and sponsor money.
  3. Count participants and the share with waivers.
  4. Read the break-even fee.
  5. Test a proposed fee and see the gap.

Set the fee

How the fee is worked out

What support does not cover, divided among those who pay.

The worked example: high school fall sportsSeason costs$176,000six linesLess support−$123,000$95,000 + $28,000Fees cover$53,000327.6 payingBreak-even fee$161.7878% of 420 payThe worked example: high school fall sportsSeason costs$176,000six linesLess support−$123,000$95,000 + $28,000Fees cover$53,000327.6 payingBreak-even fee$161.7878% of 420 pay
Waivers do not shrink the bill; they spread it across fewer payers, which is why the share waived matters as much as the costs.

The fee that breaks even

Start with everything the season costs, take off what the budget and boosters, gate receipts and sponsors pay, and the rest is what fees must raise. Divide by the athletes who actually pay, after waivers, for the fee that covers it. A fee below that leaves a gap someone else fills.

Waivers and access

Many schools waive fees for students eligible for free or reduced-price meals, so a fee is shared by fewer families than the roster suggests. Fees can keep students out: national polls of parents have found that participation fees keep some children, especially from lower-income families, from taking part. Some states and districts limit or bar fees; check your own policy first.

Sources

  1. National Federation of State High School Associations. High school athletics participation survey (nfhs.org).
  2. C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. Pay-to-participate: impact on school activities (mottpoll.org).
  3. Aspen Institute Project Play. State of Play reports on youth sports costs and access (projectplay.org).
  4. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Eligibility for free and reduced-price school meals (fns.usda.gov).

The worked example is made up. Follow your state association’s and district’s rules on fees and waivers. Your entries stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.