New policy: tickets sold at discount for students with financial need
Via the Michigan Daily (LINK):
The Michigan Athletic Department will announce a new policy Monday regarding the prices of student tickets, in which students demonstrating financial need are eligible for pricing discounts.
Students who meet the eligibility criteria for the Federal Pell Grant will be able to purchase season tickets for football, men’s basketball and hockey at a discounted rate. The standard prices for football, men’s basketball and hockey tickets in 2015-16 will be $175, $200 and $150, respectively, while the discounted prices are $100, $120 and $90.
Nice work by CSG prez Bobby Dishell:
The idea for need-based pricing for tickets came from Central Student Government President Bobby Dishell. When Dishell worked with the Athletic Department earlier in the school year to come up with a plan for lowering football ticket prices, he spoke with members of the Athletic Department about the possibility of special need-based pricing.
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:27 AM ^
But if I'm that poor, I'm not spending $120 on tickets. If you want to really help out, make them $5 per game or something.
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:32 AM ^
If the product is good on the field, then students can EASILY resell those tickets for a profit.
This is a great PR move and I think that it actually will help some students to feel comfortable buying tickets who might otherwise have been nervous about it.
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:40 AM ^
this as a money making opportunity? Somehow I doubt that was the policy's intent.
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:46 AM ^
I see it as an exercise in risk-reward.
A lot of students flip their football tickets for key games in order to pay for the package as a whole. However, at ~$175, people are more hesitant to take the risk that they will be able to get their investment back (I had a poor friend who didn't buy tickets for this exact reason).
At $100, it is a lot easier to get your money back, which means that those students should be more willing to dole out the initial cash. They won't be looking at the (scary) possibility of a financial squeeze at that price.
February 23rd, 2015 at 10:23 AM ^
If it's all about resale and risk-reward, then why not allow the athletic department to charge their normal prices for these tickets.
Somehow I always thought that students were interested in attending football games. If it's only about the potential to make money, that's a whole other story and one which I find disappointing.
February 23rd, 2015 at 11:53 AM ^
It's really about both . . . I was one of those poor Michigan students back in the day. By selling tickets for one or two games, it brought the cost for the rest of the games down to a very low price. Of course, tickets cost much, much less when I was buying them in the late 70's.
February 23rd, 2015 at 1:05 PM ^
Lol don't kid yourself. The cost of season tickets can be re-earned via selling 1 good ticket sometimes. That isn't a problem imo.
February 23rd, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
She would never have been able to experience a Michigan football game as a part of her freshman year without the ability to sell the big ticket games to cover the cost of the season. It was an important rite of passage for her despite not being a football fan. Now she'll be able to attend more games... as many as I can convince her to.
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:47 AM ^
I think he means if the tickets were priced at $5. If they are that low, every student with a Pell grant will get the tickets and resell them. This way it's still enough of a financial commitment not just those wanting to make money will buy.
February 23rd, 2015 at 10:10 AM ^
I didn't consider the possibility of resale when I made my OP.
Still, I guess I don't see that much of a difference between $175 and $100.
February 23rd, 2015 at 10:12 AM ^
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February 23rd, 2015 at 10:24 AM ^
and if your total household income is $20,000, you can't afford either.
February 23rd, 2015 at 11:04 AM ^
Keep in mind too that this discount comes straight out of the athletic department budget, unlike a Pell grant, which costs the university nothing (it's paid by a federal program). So this is "real money" that the AD is spending on good will and access for more students.
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February 23rd, 2015 at 11:09 AM ^
on anything. I think the idea is fine, just not as great as some others think it is.
And I agree with the poster below. There should be some mechanism to prevent or at least discourage ticket resale for tickets provided at a reduced price.
February 23rd, 2015 at 11:30 AM ^
I get your moral hang-up with respect to recipients of discounted tickets from reselling them, but it's probably one of those things that are not worth the effort to police. For all intents and purposes, if a student can't attend a game, then he should get it to another student that will attend and fill the seat. If there are a few bucks to be made, then so be it.
I don't see this any differently than students who are on scholarship getting grant money to buy textbooks. After all, we all know that those textbooks get resold right after the semester is over and the student gets to pocket a few bucks there as well. I can't imagine placing restrictions on resales of textbooks if they were bought with grant money, nor can I see restrictions on resales of tickets because they were initially discounted.
February 23rd, 2015 at 11:41 AM ^
And I'm normally not that guy who complains about what a sweet deal "the poors' get in this country. I'm typically pretty liberal on social issues.
I think a conversation I had this past weekend is clouding my judgment on this issue. An acquaintance was complaining about losing health coverage. Said acquaintance has no job, or desire to get one.
Maybe I just need more coffee. The Irish kind.
February 23rd, 2015 at 11:49 AM ^
Yea, my mantra is if the issue is not material, then it's probably better to save your energy for the bigger fights.
Also, I'm sorry to hear that your acquaintance doesn't have health insurance. Hopefully, they can figure that out whether through a job that provides one or otherwise.
February 23rd, 2015 at 10:12 AM ^
I think this is what needs to be avoided. The AD needs to find a way to ensure these tickets are being used by the individual who purchased them. Otherwise all it's doing is giving that student an advantage over the non-qualifying student trying to sell his season tickets. I think the idea overall is very good, but hopefully the department can curb abuse of the program.
February 23rd, 2015 at 11:05 AM ^
I thin you overestimate the desire and willingness to sell tickets. Obviously a student could, but most students have tickets or don't plan on going to games. If you are selling outside the student market you have to deal with stubhub fees or craigslist and the tickets have to get those stickers to be used without a um id. Most people I knew just ate the cost of tickets if they couldn't sell to another student for a friend or something, its not worth the hassle, people don't buy season tickets just to sell them, even if it is cheaper.
February 23rd, 2015 at 12:05 PM ^
Absolutely true. Selling student tickets to non-students is an awful experience, which is probably by design.
Resold student tickets almost always go to other students, which is how it should be. The student section should be populated by youngsters.
February 23rd, 2015 at 12:06 PM ^
Welp, that will hopefully be the last time I double-click on "Save."
February 23rd, 2015 at 12:30 PM ^
It might be different based on friends, team results, year, etc but I experienced the exact opposite of your statement "... people don't buy season tickets just to sell them, even if it is cheaper." I knew a handful of people I could easily get extra tickets from because they never planned on going to a game. Throw in band people (although frowned on) on top of that who can buy but don't have to.
My original post was meant to say it puts the "typical" student at a disadvantage as far as resale because if he posts his at half price, its still basically face value for the discounted student trying to sell his ticket. Which makes it much harder for the standard student to be competitive in pricing with the discounted student.
February 23rd, 2015 at 2:09 PM ^
I mean, worst case is that this effectively makes the face value of total ticket package (for resale purposes) $75 less. So maybe it makes the "buy tix and sell them even though I won't go to any games" route less appealing for people who don't qualify for reduced price tickets. Which... actually seems like a plus. If you're just selling a marquee game or two to more-or-less break even on the whole package, I don't think this changes a whole lot.
February 23rd, 2015 at 2:21 PM ^
Well yeah but that was student to student. My point is that student tickets don't get outside of the student market all that frequently and since excpet for the really big games student tickets never cost more than like $20 between friends or friends of friends so it there isn't a huge market of people just buying tickets with the sole intent of re selling them because making a profit is a lot of work, and its not that big a proftit.
Plus I don't think it will have too much of an impact on the market since less than like 15% of the student population is eligible for pell grants and probably not all of those students want/can afford even reduced price tickets, and a portion of those students who do buy will most certainly do so with the intention of actually attending the games. Plus an enterprising student would most likely set the price of their ticket as close as possible to overall ticket market. Just because you pay less for the ticket doesn't mean you should not maximize profit and if the average student ticket is selling for $50 an intelligent seller would set their price at $49 or the like, so probably no real impact on the student ticket market.
February 23rd, 2015 at 10:08 AM ^
This is more a PR move than an economic one, I think. As we all know, DB did a lot to destroy the relationship between the student body and the athletic department. Hackett is making efforts to re-build trust between the two entities.
This is one of those efforts.
February 23rd, 2015 at 10:35 AM ^
that totally, but either way there's a new sheriff in town and I dig it.
February 23rd, 2015 at 11:09 AM ^
It is good PR, but I don't believe that's the intent of the ADt. I think it's a genuine interest to serve the needs of all students as much as possible without taking a bath on the profit margin on the tickets. Michigan Athletics is supposed to be an entertainment stress relief from studies and source of enjoyment. Why should that be available to only those who can afford a certain amount?
February 23rd, 2015 at 12:59 PM ^
February 23rd, 2015 at 10:17 AM ^
But if I'm that poor, I'm not spending $120 on tickets.
If I'm really that poor -- and I was back when I was in college -- I don't buy football tickets. Instead, I work on Saturdays ... and Sundays, and any other day I can get hours.
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:27 AM ^
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:39 AM ^
... for obscure Jurassic Park reference
February 23rd, 2015 at 10:13 AM ^
Sure. We'll have a, a Coupon Day, or something.
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:28 AM ^
I would have qualified for this myself
February 23rd, 2015 at 12:01 PM ^
Mostly not charging that much in the first place.
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:28 AM ^
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:33 AM ^
have basketball tickets for students always been more expensive than football tickets? I don't believe that was the case when I was a student (2008-12), but perhaps I'm mistaken
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:38 AM ^
It makes sense. Football has 7-8 games at home. Basketball has 19, this season, for comparison. Football is way more per game.
This is an excellent idea that never would've happened under Brandon.
February 23rd, 2015 at 10:06 AM ^
It was part of the deal worked with SCG that was announced just before Brandon resigned. The piece that got the most attention was cutting the price of student football tickets. But in the full release was a bit about even further reduced prices for students with financial need.
See 5th paragraph of this Daily article.http://www.michigandaily.com/sports/michigan-wolverines-football-dave-b…
February 23rd, 2015 at 10:28 AM ^
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February 23rd, 2015 at 9:40 AM ^
Hard enough for poor students to make it through school so it's nice to throw them a discount so they can get the athletic experience as well. A really nice gesture by the AD and something I have a hard time seeing Brandon ever doing
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:40 AM ^
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:57 AM ^
February 23rd, 2015 at 11:54 AM ^
If you are from Palo Alto, you get an additional discount you can apply to either your Versace purse or your parent's mortgage. Your choice.
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:41 AM ^
This is so unfair! Just because my parents own a $2 million house, I have to pay full price for tickets while these students get a discount? Being in the middle class sucks.
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:44 AM ^
current events reference
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:50 AM ^
Also, Having rich parents does not mean that the kid is rich. I had a few friend when I was in Michigan on full loans who worked two jobs just to pay rent because their loaded parents didn't contribute a penny.
February 23rd, 2015 at 9:56 AM ^
the joke.
