Tuition billing is a major item, especially post-COVID and campus fees. None of that changes the fact that students have very little power to change the athletic fees, or really any fees. And they don't have to be called athletics fees. My institution has "no fees", just a flat rate for classes. But it transfers several million dollars to the athletic department every year.
Most public universities aren't even required openly disclose them, excepting some laws in VA and the Carolinas. You have to make a request. Private institutions are free to do as the wish, though there is some stuff related to receiving federal monies. Still, in general, schools don't need to openly share with students what their fees are, or where they are going. And most schools are not inclined to do so.
In some cases students have complained about the athletic fees, passed student congress complaints about the fees and projected raises in them, and the boards have approved them anyway over those complaints. Students must pay what the tuition and fees are, and the universities set those as the wish. Students can raise a fuss, and try to shine a light on it, but the university is under no obligation to answer to those complaints.
And, frankly, students should know that their tuition money is already going to the football or basketball player next to them. Be it through "institutional support" for scholarships, athletics dorms or facilities, or food. Probably not at Texas, Michigan, or Alabama, but most everywhere else. It's only a matter of time till someone gets NIL connected.