Sporting Aggie pride supports new Aggies
Cache Valley resident and Utah State University student Tara Howell and her husband, Chris, drive a white ’99 Mitsubishi Gallant, a gray ’99 Hyundai Elantra and a maroon ’93 Ford Explorer – all sporting official Aggie license plates.
“We like them better,” Tara said. “[An Aggie license plate] makes your car look nice.”
And the money spent is a contribution to the school, she added.
She had no idea that when she switched her old plates for Aggie plates, she not only made her car look nice and contributed to the school, she also contributed to scholarships for transfer and incoming USU students from Cache Valley.
The Collegiate License Plate Program began statewide in 1992. Since then the Utah State Alumni Association has sold more than 2,300 Aggie license plates, generating more than $80,500 for scholarships.
Each plate costs $25 a year on top of the regular registration license plate fee. Fifteen dollars of that go toward a scholarship that will be awarded to either an incoming freshman or transfer student from the buyer’s county. That money is matched by USU, contributing a total of $30 to the fund. Another $5 from the initial $25 is put into a general scholarship fund and the other $5 pays to make the plate and any other technicalities.
“So for every $25 spent on an Aggie license plate, $35 goes to scholarships,” said USU Alumni Relations’ marketing director Marsha Carter.
Carter encourages alumni and students alike, to purchase the plates.
“We push it all the time and would love to see the faculty more involved,” Carter said.
She encourages students buying new cars to purchase an Aggie license plate directly through the dealer.
“They’ll tell you that you can’t,” she said. “But you can.”
Students who desire to simply trade in their old plates for Aggie plates can visit any Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) in the state to do so.
Not only do Aggie license plates help more students come to USU, but they also show Aggie pride and put USU in competition with the University of Utah.
Currently, the U of U has sold approximately 200 more “U” plates than USU. That is a trend Carter would like to see change.
“We would like to surpass the U,” she said.
-tamber@cc.usu.edu
Official Aggies License plates cost $25 on top of normal car registration fees. (Photo by Jessica Alexander)