Penn State Oversells Student Section
So looks like Penn State oversold the student section (Blaiming Ticketmaster "glitch") for Saturday's game, and is asking for students to trade in their tickets in exchange for some nice perks:
- 50% off guaranteed 2014 season seats (or 2 free tickets to 2014 Homecoming)
- $200 Donation to THON
- Pre-game sideline access to future 2013 game (Illinois, Purdue, Nebraska
At least Penn State looks like they are trying to make right.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/penn-state-oversells-st…
Edit: People have also made a solid point. YOU STILL GET TO GO TO THE GAME, just move from the student section just to the upper bowl.
October 8th, 2013 at 2:23 PM ^
October 8th, 2013 at 2:30 PM ^
October 8th, 2013 at 2:36 PM ^
Its a ridiculous deal. Not only would one still get the perks, but they would also still get to go to the game, get 10 bucks to spend on campus, and a free t-shirt. All that stuff, just to not sit in the student section.
October 8th, 2013 at 2:30 PM ^
According to the entry, season tickects for PSU students run about $200, so the first bullet is not a bad one at all (and it just gets better from there apparently).
I do wonder, however, and I could be wrong - I thought that I had read that Penn State sized the student allotment based on historic demand too, so if that is the case, they could have undershot the demand in this case by a substantial margin.
October 8th, 2013 at 2:30 PM ^
October 8th, 2013 at 2:35 PM ^
is that the students who turn in their ticket STILL get tickets to the game...just in a different section
October 8th, 2013 at 2:40 PM ^
October 8th, 2013 at 4:48 PM ^
cared enough that overselling our student section could actually happen
October 8th, 2013 at 5:43 PM ^
...Penn State is the one stadium I noticed this year where the ushers were bringing a line of students into a nearly empty student section just before kickoff. It looked just like Michigan/Akron.
No doubt there have been others but it's the only time I saw it.
October 8th, 2013 at 2:43 PM ^
... and a couple of free drink coupons?
October 8th, 2013 at 9:07 PM ^
it's disconcerting that Athletic Departments are beginning to act like Delta Airlines. But such seems to be the new reality.
This wasn't a "glitch" by Penn State --- they knew they oversold student season tickets and decided to play the "airline game."
But the students have surprised --- while alumni fan attendance has been shaky so far this year, student support has been remarkably strong for our first 3 games.
Risky game to play, because unlike the airlines the product isn't quite as fungible --- a 5 PM flight to O'Hare isn't that different than a 3 PM flight, but there's only 1 PSU/Michigan game.
October 8th, 2013 at 2:43 PM ^
stupid mistake? Who would have thought...
October 8th, 2013 at 2:49 PM ^
Dave Brandon would exchange your ticket with a t-shirt...
October 8th, 2013 at 3:05 PM ^
... and dipping sauce.
But with all of this hilarious bashing of the low-hanging fruit -- Dave Brandon's commercialism and Penn State's general incompetence -- let's remember why we keep seeing such spectacles as:
- Alvarez and Beilema doing PSA's begging students to get to the game on time;
- Michigan actually picking up on a throwaway line from Brady Hoke and shaming students to arrive in time to get a free donut;
- PSU's (deliberate, I presume) overselling of their student section;
- etc., etc., etc.
It's because, for whatever reason, college students of this generation are really terrible about getting to games on time, if at all. That's college students in East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Madison; and apparently in Athens, Georgia, and I don't know how many other places.
October 8th, 2013 at 6:22 PM ^
It's as if someone pisses in your Cherrios each and every monring.
October 8th, 2013 at 6:49 PM ^
Could you please provide a citation to support your implicit conclusion that college students today are showing up less frequently and less on time than students of previous generations? Thanks!
October 8th, 2013 at 10:44 PM ^
Snarkiness aside, I did a simple Google search "college football student section attendance" and all of the results on the front page were on declining student attendance, or declining attendance overall. It doesn't appear to be that foreign of a phenomenon and there's plenty written about it.
October 8th, 2013 at 2:56 PM ^
If DB offered the same deal to Michigan students, it would only result in more empty seats.
(ducks)
October 8th, 2013 at 3:03 PM ^
That's certainly a generous offer. Of course, it's easier to move students around when your stadium never sells out anymore.
October 8th, 2013 at 3:12 PM ^
DO WANT! That's the greatest compensation package I have seen since the Flyers traded away their entire future to the Colorado Avalanche for Eric Lindros.
October 8th, 2013 at 3:12 PM ^
Take notes Dave Brandon. This is how to handle it when you stupidly sell too many student tickets. Not this ridiculous claim period crap which will only result in more headaches.
October 8th, 2013 at 10:43 PM ^
Should we let it become an issue before we complain about it?
October 8th, 2013 at 3:21 PM ^
October 8th, 2013 at 4:12 PM ^
they are all about overselling stuff
October 8th, 2013 at 4:15 PM ^
Sounds great. A big bonus plus you still get to watch the game? Count me in. Brandon would simply call it an unexpected oversaturation of the UM brand nexus and charge double next time.
/ Obvious and unnecessary Brandon dig
// All Brandon digs are necessary
/// See myself out.
October 8th, 2013 at 4:23 PM ^
Clearly the best deal is the discounted ticket for next season. I'll bet a lot of students won't want to give their tickets though because they're going to want to come to this game.
October 8th, 2013 at 4:31 PM ^
October 8th, 2013 at 10:45 PM ^
To be fair, it was a bit misleading.
is asking for students to trade in their tickets in exchange for some nice perksThat part confused me at first, I simply assumed "trading in" your tickets meant you weren't going to the game. Of course after I scrolled down a few posts I saw that wasn't the case.
October 8th, 2013 at 4:25 PM ^
does this mean the student section will be empty and the upper bowl will be filled with students counting and flashing their cash?
October 8th, 2013 at 5:16 PM ^
October 8th, 2013 at 5:32 PM ^
October 8th, 2013 at 5:41 PM ^
...I thought I was going to read that they'd hired a former travel agent or airline employee as a consultant to help them figure out how to deal with all the empty seats in the student section, and had hit on the time-honored plan of overbooking.
October 9th, 2013 at 12:00 AM ^
They would have been better off making the students claim the tickets for Central Florida and using that as the test to see who goes to the Michigan game.
I think the basketball plan they announced is only a test run to have it applied to football.
At Michigan they bump the oversold passengers where at PSU they seek volunteers for compensation.