“Tarleton deserves that.”- Students vote yes to increase in the athletic fee.

Tarleton State University President James Hurley announced Thursday evening that Tarleton students voted to pass a resolution which increases the student athletic fee to $35 per semester credit hour, enabling Tarleton to go Division I.

 “Over one thousand [students] voted yes. 68.15 percent [of voting students] voted yes for the Division I transition initiative,” Hurley said.

1,595 students voted on the resolution, according to Hurley.

The next step for Tarleton’s transition is a vote by the Texas A&M University Board of Regents to approve the athletic fee increase.

“This is submitted to the regents for their approval at the board meeting which is just part of the process,” Hurley said.

If the Board of Regents passes the vote, Tarleton plans to hold a large celebration to announce its Division I move.

“The WAC commissioner has already committed to coming here and we’ll have a big celebration,” Hurley said.

Hurley also said the school is attempting to bring the Texas governor to town for the announcement.

“We’re working on getting the governor and all of our elected officials…we’re really working hard to get [them] here,” Hurley said.

Tarleton State Athletic Director Lonn Reisman said he has had a note on his desk since 2003 about the possibility of going Division I.

“’Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up’, and underneath that I put ‘NCAA Division I’,” Reisman said. He continued, “For sixteen years, I didn’t give up for the dream that you are going to get to experience someday.”

Reisman said the move to Division I is important to him because he thinks Tarleton deserves recognition.

“Tarleton deserves the recognition that it’s getting right now…we’ve been on newscasts; we’ve been in major newspapers, Tarleton deserves that,” Reisman said.