The legislature buys down the tuition level, although they really contribute very little of CU's revenue. The athletic fee should never have been permanent. If tuition had just gone up a bit, there would never have been so much controversy. The issue here is whether athletics costs should be user-based or a fee that undergraduates' parents pay. Having parents pay some of the cost is not all bad.
Poor students can buy football tickets.
There is still the problem of legality - the university cannot hide fees in tuition. Another issue is the AD's status as an auxiliary. Auxiliaries are prohibited from receiving more than a certain small percentage of their revenue from direct university support. If the fee were included, they would exceed that percentage. So it is a vital question whether or not the fee constitutes university support.