CLEVELAND, Ohio - The net cost for season tickets to Ohio State football games could be about to go up, and it has nothing to do with the actual ticket prices.

This could be the work of the federal government.

The tax overhaul proposal introduced last week by U.S. House Republicans takes aim at college donor programs that provide access to season tickets.

If the plan as written becomes law, donations made to universities will no longer be deductible federally if the donations are made in exchange for an opportunity to buy tickets. (Read full text below.)

At Ohio State, making a minimum donation - nearly all of which is now tax deductible - is the only way most of the general public can buy season tickets.

As detailed on the school's athletic website, for most people there are just two options, each providing the opportunity to then buy two season tickets that otherwise would not be available:

Join the athletic booster

Donate at least $3,000 to Ohio State's Presidents Club

The Buckeye Club spells out on its website the donation levels necessary for the opportunity to buy season football tickets, starting at $1,500 for the general public.

Some people do not have to follow the donation requirements, according to the OSU website. They include current students, faculty and staff, and some long-time purchasers awarded the opportunity to buy season tickets in the 1980s.

The tickets are an extra cost after the donations. OSU season ticket prices for the public will start at $681 next year. The prices vary by game, topping out at $180 for the Nebraska game and $195 for the Michigan game.

As for seat location, the more people donate, the better the seats, and large donations can open the door to more season tickets. The Buckeye Booster program has a donor point program to determine ticket priority.

All but a small portion of the donations are now tax deductible. The proposal in the House would no longer permit any deduction like this, according to a summary published by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.

Rep. George Holding, a Republican from North Carolina who helped write the tax proposal, told the Raleigh News & Observer that eliminating the deduction was part of an overall plan.

"I went to Wake Forest. We've got a great field house out there," the newspaper quoted Holding as saying. "Rams Club, the Wolfpack Club, all these things are a big deal. But at the end of the day, aren't you willing to give up all these little tax preferences in exchange for not only a lower rate, but a growing economy?"

An OSU spokesman said the school would wait until there was something more definitive before making a comment.

No doubt, tax experts and lawyers would get involved to determine if there would be room for some exceptions, but the current language from the Joint Committee on Taxation does single out the college programs.

Here is the summary the the joint committee published for the current law.

College athletic seating rights

. In general, where a taxpayer receives or expects to receive a substantial return benefit for a payment to charity, the payment is not deductible as a charitable contribution. However, special rules apply to certain payments to institutions of higher education in exchange for which the payor receives the right to purchase tickets or seating at an athletic event. Specifically, the payor may treat 80 percent of a payment as a charitable contribution where: (1) the amount is paid to or for the benefit of an institution of higher education (as defined in section 3304(f)) described in section (b)(1)(A)(ii) (generally, a school with a regular faculty and curriculum and meeting certain other requirements), and (2) such amount would be allowable as a charitable deduction but for the fact that the taxpayer receives (directly or indirectly) as a result of the payment the right to purchase tickets for seating at an athletic event in an athletic stadium of such institution.

And here is the summary published for what is proposed:

Denial of deduction for college athletic event seating rights

The proposal amends section 170(l) to provide that no charitable deduction shall be allowed for any amount described in paragraph 170(l)(2), generally, a payment to an institution of higher education in exchange for which the payor receives the right to purchase tickets or seating at an athletic event, as described in greater detail above.

Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner.