The University of North Texas took one big step closer to replacing Fouts Field on Saturday, when the school announced that students approved a referendum for an athletic fee during its fall elections.

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Students cheer the University of North Texas football team as it makes its entrance at Fouts Field for a showdown against the University of Louisiana-Lafayette on Oct. 11. The university is one step closer to building a new stadium after students approved a referendum for an athletic fee of $10 per credit hour during fall elections.

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The fee of $10 per credit hour will replace the $3 portion of the student services fee that is dedicated to athletics. The new fee will be put in place when UNT opens a new stadium to replace Fouts Field, which opened in 1952.

A total of 4,867 UNT students voted in the election, with 58.1 percent of voters favoring the fee increase.

The fee will now be forwarded to the UNT Board of Regents and then the state Legislature for approval.

UNT officials are hoping to have the new stadium open in 2011.

The vote ends weeks of debate over the referendum that divided the campus community.

UNT athletic department officials and several student leaders argued that the fee was necessary to help the school replace Fouts, a venue that has deteriorated over the years. Several of the schools UNT competes against in the Sun Belt Conference and across Texas have similar athletic fees.

“I believe the students’ voice was heard and it shows that we care about the future of this university,” said Jeff Kline, UNT student body president. “We understand that this vote was not just about the stadium. It was about our university’s future and our experience as students and alumni, because having a new stadium and entertainment venue will enhance our entire college experience.”

Opponents of the fee pointed to the rising cost of a college education and the struggles of the UNT football program as reasons a new fee should not be implemented.

UNT junior Brittany Hibbs said she wasn’t surprised by the support for the referendum.

“[UNT is] a business and [the new stadium] is a recruitment tool,” Hibbs said. “My tuition has gone up every semester I’ve been here. It’s expected.”

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The home side of Fouts Field is shown in the first quarter of the University of North Texas vs. University of Louisiana-Lafayette game on Oct. 11.

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The athletic department provided information to students throughout the last several weeks leading up to the election, and proponents of the fee campaigned heavily, placing signs around campus.

“Although I know there were students on both sides of this issue, I appreciate the support of those who have put us in a position to bring to fruition a project that I believe will have a positive impact on the entire university,” said Rick Villarreal, UNT athletic director. “Now that the students have given us their commitment, our momentum for raising donations and attracting corporate sponsorships will increase. We intend to continue moving this process along in the most expedient manner so everyone can enjoy a new facility as soon as possible.”

The addition of a fee will result in millions of dollars to put toward a stadium for UNT, which has a student body of more than 34,000. UNT officials will now turn their attention to private donors and corporate sponsors to pay for the remainder of the cost of a stadium.

Villarreal estimated earlier this year that a new stadium would cost about $60 million. The stadium will be built outside the Mean Green Athletic Center near the intersection of Interstates 35E and 35W, which could make naming rights attractive to either a private booster or corporation.

Villarreal and UNT head football coach Todd Dodge each said that building a new stadium is necessary to improve a program that has struggled since winning the last of four consecutive Sun Belt Conference titles in 2004.

UNT has posted a 7-35 record since that last title season and changed coaches.

After the 2006 campaign, the school brought in Dodge, a former high school coach at Southlake Carroll, to replace Darrell Dickey, a four-time Sun Belt Coach of the Year who struggled at the end of his tenure with the Mean Green.

Dodge said this summer that UNT officials promised him the school would build a stadium to replace Fouts when he was considering taking the position. Dodge has since told a series of recruits that the school would build a new venue.

UNT has struggled despite those promises under Dodge, who has a 2-17 record with the Mean Green after Saturday night’s loss at Louisiana-Monroe.

UNT appears to be much closer to fulfilling the promise now that students have approved an athletic fee. UNT would be required to have a large portion of the cost of the stadium already in hand in the form of donations, but could use the fee to bond out the rest of the cost of the project.

“Our student body clearly supports continued expansion and improvement of UNT athletics,” said UNT President Gretchen Bataille. “They also understand that a strong athletics program is key to a vibrant alumni community and the continued growth of UNT’s image. This fee, which will help us build a new stadium and entertainment venue, will ensure that our athletics program will be able to match the quality of our academic and research programs.”

Staff writer Candace Carlisle contributed to this report.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.