On Saturday night, 92,739 people filed into Tiger Stadium, making up the largest crowd in the University’s history of home games.
And while the number of student tickets used was unavailable by press time, it was evident just by being there that student attendance was abundant.
Maybe it was because it was the season home opener. Maybe it was because the Tigers were up against the No. 9 team. And maybe it was because ESPN College GameDay broadcasted from the Parade Ground.
Whatever the reason, the student section was packed shoulder-to-shoulder.
It was refreshing that this time, after years of Student Government administrations toiling over the student ticket system, they landed on one that really reflects the interest of the students.
In 2005, students criticized former SG President Michelle Gieg for making it more time-consuming to exchange tickets between one another. Prior to her initiative, students were given tickets resembling season tickets for the general public. But under Gieg’s administration, tickets were printed with student names, and entry into the student section required a matching student ID – students would have to go through an exchange process to transfer tickets to other students.
The following year the ticket process was only further complicated when students were forced to print out their own tickets that initially contained not only names, but social security numbers.
While students still print their own tickets, the system SG President Cassie Alsfeld and the Athletic Ticket Office introduced this season has made it easier to swap tickets between fellow students.
Because now the name on the ticket is no longer required to match the ID, tired tailgaters who changed their mind at the last minute Saturday were able to relinquish their tickets to friends rather than let their seats go empty.
According to the Ticket Office, the average amount of unused tickets in the student section for the past two semesters was about 4,000.
Student attendance became such an embarrassment to the Athletic Department that it sold 740 tickets out of the student section to the general public for the Ole Miss game this past season.
We think the combination of this year’s strong home game schedule in addition to the Athletic Department and SG’s revised ticket system will motivate students to keep the stands full.
The battle on gameday should be on the field, not in the ticketline. We applaud SG and the Athletic Department for making this happen.