The rationale to keep the $8 million match intact, to some degree, comes down to return on investment, some legislators said.

“The university has benefited greatly from these matching dollars,” said Rep. Glenn Moniz, R-Laramie, a member of the Joint Appropriations Committee. “It’s going to improve our athletic facilities, our athletes in general. As the performance of these athletes improves, we will create more attention for our athletic programs. You’ve seen the influx of the popularity with the winning of the Mountain West Conference tournament in (men’s) basketball. As we continue to grow, it does nothing but help our university as a whole.”

Originally, there was a near-unanimous decision to approve the athletics funding, with only Rep. Cathy Connolly, D-Laramie, voting against it.

Connolly, a UW professor, then proposed an amendment, hoping to alter the match from $8 million to $4 million.

Sen. Bruce Burns, R-Sheridan, followed by proposing to split the difference at $6 million.