question for football season ticket holders
For the past 3 seasons I have bought my season tickets on eBay (usually at or below face value). I realize as we become better that buying inexpensive season tickets will become a distant memory.
So, I have paid my $10 to be added to the waiting list. How does this process work? What are the perks of being a registered season ticket holder? Do you have first crack at bowl games and the newly added B10 title game?
I know that I will be located in the end-zone but how far up the bowl will I be?
Sorry for playing 20 questions but you guys are the only ones I trust to give me an accurate answer.
EDIT: I plan on making a donation. Sorry I forgot to add that.
November 18th, 2010 at 9:59 AM ^
Are you willing to pay a PSD to get better seats? There is no waiting list if you are willing to make a donation, possibly in addition to the PSD.
November 18th, 2010 at 10:01 AM ^
How much are we talking? I thought you had to donate regardless. I though they said $250 per seat for endzone.
November 18th, 2010 at 10:11 AM ^
I made a very large donation and received 40 yard line tickets. (in addition to the PSD)
But now I have those tickets for life. (have to keep paying PSD and season ticker, but only a 1 time very large donation)
There is club seating still available, but that will set you back a pretty penny, AND it's a yearly expense. (it's a very large PSD). BTW, I recommend the east side outdoor club, not the indoor club.
All bowl games and big 10 championship games will be a factor of how many 'points' you have. You get points for various things.. mostly by donating money via PSD or direct donations, but you also get it for graduating, being a season ticket holder, etc.
The points needed for away tickets has skyrocketed recently because of all the new donations that came in for the club seating and suites.
Everything is done by points.
So, to answer your question, I'd call the Victors Club, see what it would take to get tickets immediately, and then decide if you want to spend that money. (it might be worth a small one time donation to get your season tickets for life. (you won't be between the 40s for a small donation, but might still get a great sight line and you know you have them)
November 18th, 2010 at 10:55 AM ^
NeilGoBlue: What qualifies as a large donation? I'm section 40 in the 50's, but would love to move over into the 30 yard line.
November 18th, 2010 at 11:21 AM ^
It's hard to tell. How many points do you have?
If you have zero points, it would probably take a 10K donation to get between the 40s. (2 tickets). Visitor side is easier to get. 4 tickets is harder to get.
I don't know how much to get between the 30s, probably about $5K
This might have been all turned upside down with the club seats tho... a lot of people between the 40s might have moved to club seating, allowing someone with less points to slide into non club between the 40s.
If you have 100 plus points, you might be able to do it with just a small amount of money.
Call the Victors Club, I deal with Mary Walker and Kurt Gulbrand, and ask them. It's pretty straightforward.
I also think that now is the time to change if you want to. Team is not great. Economic Recession exists AND with the new club seats.. everyone is moving around. (maybe for the first time in a generation)
I had 2 40 yard line tickets and then this year bought 2 indoor club tickets. I wasn't really happy with them and will goto outdoor club tickets next year, but I still kept my 40 yard line section 2 tickets. BUT, I won't keep my 40 yard line section 2 tickets much longer.... so, those will be available, and there will be many people like me...
Hope this helps.
November 18th, 2010 at 10:05 AM ^
You could be looking at years on the waiting list. (with out a PSD) So Ebay might be the better option
You do get to order road games but not sure how the Championship game will work.
In my experience, all Bowl games tickets are bought through the M ticket office or Bowl game web site.
November 18th, 2010 at 10:04 AM ^
I would start by reading this if you haven't already: http://www.mgoblue.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/mich/genrel/auto_pdf/v…
I just got season tickets for the first time this year by making a PSD donation for the first time. Since it's just my first year I can't speak to how the bowl games/Big Ten championship will get distributed. FWIW, I'm a basketball season ticket holder and get first crack at the Big Ten Tournament tickets.
November 18th, 2010 at 10:27 AM ^
where were you offered seats at? Is their a donation seperate from the PSD? I was under the assumption it would cost me $250/seat for a PSD in the endzone and then the cost of the season tickets. So if I wanted 4 seats it would be $1000 PSD?
November 18th, 2010 at 2:32 PM ^
Your donation, including your preferred seating annual donation all affect your priority points.
Priority points are earned by things like graduating from U of M, having a varsity letter, etc. They are also earned by current and past donations (current donations weighted more) to both the athletic department and other parts of the university (unrestricted AD donations weighted more).
How many priority points determines where you fall on the waiting list for the types of seats you want (e.g. End-zone, Maize, Blue, Valiant, Victors see here). So, the person with the highest priority points waiting for seats in the Maize, gets the first available Maize seats.
Once you have season tickets, if you make the annual preferred seating donation, you can re-buy the same seats for the next year.
The preferred seating donation for end-zone tickets is $50 per ticket per year.
November 18th, 2010 at 10:04 AM ^
Once you're on the waiting list, the only way you actually get offered season tickets is if you donate at least $100 to join the Victors Club. Then, depending on how many "priority points" you have, you may get the chance to buy tickets. I was offered a pair of renewable tickets in the Blue section -- one category better than endzone, basically in the corner -- last year with just 1 priority point (I should have had 12, but they screwed up my account). Unless a lot more people are trying to get tickets for next year, the threshold may still be low enough that a $100 donation will be enough.
November 18th, 2010 at 10:04 AM ^
With the $10 fee, the waiting list is going to take you 20 years. You probably need to look at a one time donation of around $1,000, supplemented by additional donations of a few hundred bucks each year you have to sit on the waiting list. This does not guarantee you season tickets, but it will guarantee you tickets to each game, including Ohio State, Notre Dame, etc.
There have been several threads before about this, I was looking for one as a link but couldn't find it in the search.
November 18th, 2010 at 10:44 AM ^
Paying 10 dollars gets you on the waiting list.
They give out new season tickets as they become available, not by when you joined the list, but based on Priority Point Totals. Your points are not active unless you donate at least $100 per year. You get 1 point per 100 dollars donated, 5 points if you are U of M grad, 1 point per year for consecutive season ticket purchases in football, hockey or basketball. 10 points if you earned a varsity letter at U of M. 1 point per every 1000 dollars of historical donations (historical meaning prior to the start of the Victors Club priority point system.)
If you make a donation of 1000 or 1500 right of the bat you are offered two endzone tickets which you'd have to pay a 50 dollar PSD per ticket every year to renew them. Plus if you want better seats, you have to keep paying at least 100 dollars a year to keep your priority points active.
Please correct me if any of my information is incorrect.
EDIT: http://www.mgoblue.com/victorsclub/priority-points.html Priority Point Link
November 18th, 2010 at 10:45 AM ^
I graduated in 2001. Did the waiting list for years to no avail. So 2008 I donated $100 and joined victors club= row 88 corner. This current year I joined the alumni assoc.-life member. Row 20 on ten yard line. Not saying u have to do life membership but if applicable then buy into the Alumni club, otherwise donate to victors club. Like they say it's all about points.
November 18th, 2010 at 11:17 AM ^
http://alumni.umich.edu/join/become-a-member/types-of-membership
You can also get good discounts on insurance and do things like go to Camp Michigania which is a great UM experience every family should do.
You don't even need to be a U-M alum to join the association!
November 18th, 2010 at 2:37 PM ^
I'm not sure that you just weren't the beneficiary of good (bad?) timing. Getting good seats this year wasn't particularly hard, especially with lots of folks moving to premium (club, suite, or chairback) seating.
Your priority points were affected by your alumni association membership, I think, but that's about it. 20 years ago, I think this was more important, now it is really a Victor's Club thing.
That being said, there are other benefits to the AAUM that you may find valuable. After a while, I didn't.
November 18th, 2010 at 10:53 AM ^
If you want to go to bowl games join the UM Alumni Association now to get priority and take one of their packages which are very good. Probably a lot cheaper than paying PSD. They also have offered season tickets the past couple years (different seat every game which was very fun). btw I have gotten some GREAT value on Ebay for UM home and road games.
November 18th, 2010 at 10:58 AM ^
Preferred seat donations are mandatory for season ticket holders in order to renew their seats every year. The only people that do not have to pay a PSD are endzone season ticket holders who received their tickets prior to 2005. Every new season ticket holder now has a mandatory PSD to pay every year which ranges from 50 to 500 dollars per ticket depending where you sit.
November 18th, 2010 at 10:57 AM ^
Graduated in 1999, was on the waiting list for years. Finally joined with the Victors Club in 2005 (first year of it?). I didn't get season tickets until last year, but I did get the "Go Blue" packs and things, which were tickets to each game except homecoming for one price. Not bad, but the seats changed each year and sometimes even each game. When I did get season tickets, I was expecting low in the end zone, but got row 71 in the corner and I plan on renewing those because it's a great spot next to some former M players.
The priority points is essentially $50 per seat per year in "donation" for corner to end zone, it gets higher in price the closer to midfield per seat per year. They screwed up my priority points too and hadn't counted my degrees from UM so I should have had seats back in 06 or 07, but I had the Go Blue packs those years anyway. I've been an AAUM member since I graduated and didn't think that had anything to do with season tickets, but you do get a chance to buy individual game tickets you can't get through the public sale.
Not sure why people think the $1000 or $1500 donation is necessary right away, seems like overkill. My total of $500 in "donations" over the past five years has yielded me tickets. I think a one-time donation of $250 or $500 will certainly help out right away.
November 18th, 2010 at 11:20 AM ^
The info the Victors Club sent me stated, that if you donated 1500 dollars you are GUARANTEED two endzone season tickets which you will have forever as long as you pay the PSD. If you donated like I did, 100 dollars per year since 2001, I didn't get season tickets till 2010.
November 18th, 2010 at 1:55 PM ^
I don't think they used to do that. I gave $100 per year since 04/05 and got them in 2009. Honestly, I just couldn't afford the big donation.
Signed,
Fellow Dutchman (making assumptions from your s/n)
November 18th, 2010 at 2:05 PM ^
probably why I was shafted, they had my priority point totals messed up. I called in 2008 to ask why I hadn't received tickets and apparently they didn't have me listed as a graduate :( Boooo-urns.
November 18th, 2010 at 2:21 PM ^
I don't think they used to do that. I gave $100 per year since 04/05 and got them in 2009. Honestly, I just couldn't afford the big donation.
Signed,
Fellow Dutchman (making assumptions from your s/n)
November 18th, 2010 at 11:12 AM ^
got me the All-In packages the last couple of years. Tickets to every game, just in different locations and non-renewable. I think the you can pay $125/ticket psd and get renewable tickets.
November 18th, 2010 at 12:45 PM ^
I was only on the waitlist for 1 year (got on Dec 08 and got season tix for the 09 and beyond). Give as much as you can because it will also get you better seats (row 20 as opposed to row 90). I gave $2500 and got 4 endzone seats in row 1 right off the waitlist and I'm not alumni. Now is the time to get them because this team will be very good in the next few years and tix will be hard to come by
November 18th, 2010 at 12:51 PM ^
How do I go about making a donation? Do I have to fill out some kind of form, or does the ticket office send something out for those on the waiting list? When is the donation due, if u want tickets for the 2011 season?
<br>Could use some advice, no way I'm missing Nd at night, Nebraska and OSU at home.
November 18th, 2010 at 2:42 PM ^
Program guide here: http://www.mgoblue.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/mich/genrel/auto_pdf/victors-club-brochure
Forms here: http://www.mgoblue.com/victorsclub/forms.html
I think you want the "Regular Contribution"
Or contact info:
Telephone: (734) 764-7131
Fax: (734) 763-6989
E-mail: [email protected]
November 18th, 2010 at 2:45 PM ^
The donations are due January 31st I believe. Check out the victors club section on the website for the details. You cab send your check in or donate online too
November 18th, 2010 at 6:40 PM ^
Last year, the deadline for making donations by credit card was 12/31 (i.e., a month earlier than the final donation deadline). Just in case you have a reward card that you're itching to use.
November 18th, 2010 at 12:55 PM ^
My family has been in the south endzone for forty years. In that time, we've traded tickets with other people, just to sit all around the stadium. For the money, I don't think there are better seats available. We are about halfway down the bowl and right between the goal posts. Especially with the way the offense is run now, I can see the play develop better than anyone along the sidelines.