We Out: A student view of the new ticket policies

Submitted by Michigan Eaglet on

I know that the new tickets policies for football and basketball have been discussed at length here, but this article has been getting a lot publicity today by many Michigan students, especially among basketball season ticket holders. It more eloquently gives the argument as to why the author and many other students (including myself) have sold back our student basketball tickets and how this athletic department continues to erode their image in the eyes of students and future alumni. It's decently long, but worth the read, especially by some of the fan base that are easy to dismiss the students as apathetic.

http://droptheglovesblog.wordpress.com/2013/09/23/we-out-the-totalitarianism-of-the-michigan-athletic-department/

Wolverines Dominate

September 23rd, 2013 at 8:42 PM ^

Students are lucky enough to be students at one of the best public universities in the country. You are also lucky enough to get discounted tickets to sporting events that non-students would kill to get. I have absolutely no remorse for any students bitching about the new policies. When our student section is HALF as loud and rowdy as the likes of Ohio, LSU, Wisconsin, and PSU (amongst others of course), then maybe we can have a little bit more of an intimidating stadium. Until then, STFU, get the great education that Michigan will provide you with, accept your discounted tickets, come to the games on time, and quit whining.

TheGhostofChappuis

September 23rd, 2013 at 8:49 PM ^

We get it.  You don't like students.  When you talk about "bitching," "whining"," and tell people to "STFU," nobody is going to care about anything you have to say (not that they would anyway, but your word choice makes your opinion especially worthless).

Wolverines Dominate

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:27 PM ^

It's a pretty weak student section, but to be fair, the stadium atmosphere at the stadium is weak overall. We have the largest stadium in the country and it's not very loud. Don't give me the "it's too wide open" bull shit argument because that is a minimal factor in the crowd noise. The problem lies with the fans. Instead of yelling "down in front," people should be yelling "GO BLUE" and cheering for their team. Dave Brandon should take away the bleachers and make it a standing room only (I kid obviously...kind of).

Wolverines Dominate

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:21 PM ^

No, I never said that. It's just when they start bitching about something so unimportant as a new ticket policy, that's when they annoy me. I'm a college graduate (Kent State) and could have gone to Michigan if I wanted to, but was uncomfortable dropping $30,000+ a year for that (out-of-state obviously). Many Michigan students are so spoiled and complain about stupid shit like this that it annoys me.

Owl

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:30 PM ^

Please don't comment on the students unless you know what you're talking about. From your posts, it doesn't sound like you do.

Also, why did you feel the need to clarify that you graduated college? Especially the bit about "could have gone to Michigan?" 

Wolverines Dominate

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:47 PM ^

If you read the post I replied to, you can figure it out, but just in case you can't, I will explain. He made it sound like I don't get it or that I was never a student myself, at least that is what I got from it. 

spigmoni

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:31 PM ^

You were uncomfortable dropping $30,000+ a year.  Fair.  However, maybe these same students who are doing exactly that have some strong opinions about something that affects their student life.  I don't see how that makes them spoiled?  I don't necessarily agree with the OP blogpost which I found to be too whiny; however, I am getting annoyed of the posts telling the students to stop being spoiled for being upset at a last minute change of policy to a product they already purchased under different pretenses.  

Wolverines Dominate

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:51 PM ^

Well, the AD has a right to amend policies. It's not like the students signed a contract with clauses that stated, "As long as I'm a student at Michigan, the ticket policy won't change." This analogy is a little over the top, but it's like the Constitution and its amendments. I'm sure there were people upset over some of the amendments, but guess what, they had to deal with them.

Blue Mike

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:03 PM ^

Students are "lucky enough" to be students at Michigan?  I'm pretty sure every student that attends this great university works his/her tail off before and during their time on campus to earn that education they are "provided".  And pays large sums of money to the university to do so.  

And I'm sure the best way to make the student section "half as loud and rowdy" as other schools is to piss them all off and tell them to shut up and enjoy it.

miaamark

September 23rd, 2013 at 10:47 PM ^

Stop talking about "discounted" tickets!!! The students are paying $30,000 for the right to buy "discounted" tickets. It is college sports forgodsake! Your lack of "remorse" for a legitimate complaints to a bait and switch scheme pulled by the athletic department on the students is mystifying. Students are the good fans for basketball! Maybe you are letting your football attendance frustrations color your perception of the basketball issue?

miaamark

September 23rd, 2013 at 11:56 PM ^

Wow. Your first post on a 300 message thread is to look me up and call me dumb. I must have really pissed you off the other day. You must be a very insignificant person.

But I will play -

So your argument is that being a student should not give you access to reduced tickets? Wow. I don't think many people would support you on that one.

But I am glad you advanced the thought process on this thread by pointing that out.

pescadero

September 24th, 2013 at 9:58 AM ^

"So your argument is that being a student should not give you access to reduced tickets?"

 

I think being a student should give you the privilege of reduced tickets.

I have no problem with certain responsibilities being associated with that privilege.

 

If students don't wish to adhere to the responsibilities which accompany that privilege, they're welcome to purchase tickets on the open market which do not have attached responsibilities.

 

 

Witz57

September 24th, 2013 at 12:41 AM ^

Businesses use loss leaders all the time to hook customers for the long haul.



Televisions ratings are skewed to more heavily account for young people because they're more valuable consumers to acquire.



And you're supporting bad buisness decisions/shady moral ones and being a jerk to other posters. Maybe you should get some perspective or just sit this one out.

Michigan4Life

September 24th, 2013 at 12:35 PM ^

does not goes toward Michigan Athletic Department. Their budget is completely separate from the university money.  You don't pay for the right for the discounted tickets. You paid to be the student at the University of Michigan.

If both budgets are linked, it's a different story.  Since it's not, it's not a right because it's up to the Athletic Department to charge the prices of the tickets. They can charge you for the same price as the regular season tickets.

NFG

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:04 PM ^

You want some frenchcries and a wamburger? You damn kids with your CD players, pagers, gameboys and fax machines are so freakin' spoiled. Just go to the game and quit obstructing my view with your mohawks, ski goggles and tech-vests.

The FannMan

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:10 PM ^

So, as an alumn in his 40s, I came here ready to go all "in my day we showed up for games at noon" and "you may be the future, but stop acting like you are the now."  I certainly think a lot of this pov is justified.  The posts from many students and the linked article do suggest a sense of entitlement.  its not enough to claim to be the future and make demands while you decide to stay in bed.

However, a number of points made by the author and student-supportive commenters do register.  ND aside, the non-conference games listed in the aticle are pure crap.  In my day (sorry) we played ND each year, plus got the likes of UCLA and Flordia State.  Heck, Boston College used to be decent (top 30), and that was worst game on the schedule.  This created at atmosphere where students got in the habit of going to the games on time, because the games were awesome.  The best memories were to be made watching the game, not at the tailgate.  I now get that this changes if the oppoent is sub-par week after week. 

I am also struck by the fact that many of the compliants from the student side of things mirroed my own.  The level of competition is already addressed.  Also, I too sense that the AD sees me not as a loyal alumn, but a resource to be squeezed and then tossed aside as soon as someone else is willing to pay $1 more.  The adversitiing grates.  Worse, the stub-hub deal means that we end up with 1/3 of the section filled with OSU fans every two years.  That sucks for the rest of us, but the AD is cool with it since he gets paid twice off of the same ticket  (Yes, there is a way to stop this.  SEC schools allow other fans to report you if opposing fans are in your seats.  You get a warning or two and then loose your tickets.)  The fact that the University runs this system that spoils the game experience for so many of us is telling.

The students do view the football experience differently that I did because it is different from what it was 20 years ago.  This is really sad.  Many of their concerns also mirror those of the broader fan base.  Perhaps the students could make a bit more an effort during the conference schedule, and the rest of us should support them in their efforts to get through to the AD on the issues we have in common

 

 

spigmoni

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:38 PM ^

The scheduling of crap games in the OP blogpost is a problem at many schools not just Michigan  (did anyone see the stands 30 minutes to kickoff at Georgia, Ohio State, etc. this weekend?).  I tend to think this is due to the BCS era of pts and scheduling.  I am hoping at least that this playoff model may encourage a better SOS as opposed to the current model where 1 loss may take you out of the picture for good.  Of course we're still years away with contracts made years in advance.  

Blue Mike

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:07 PM ^

Showing up on time isn't just a student problem.  Maybe the AD should implement the GA policy for all football tickets?  Lets make 115,000 people arrive early and be handed a seat assignment based on where they are in line.  

Jeff09

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:51 PM ^

I was a student from 2005-2009. I don't think I ever sat lower than like row 55, no idea why but I kind of got screwed my senior year. Still, when I was a senior, I went to that northwestern game and sat, soaked, until the end, and watched that 08 team lose from my mediocre seats. I would have killed to have watched a team as good as we have now, from anywhere in that stadium. And anyone who is complaining about dealing with the current status of the basketball team doesn't remember Tommy Amaker. Christ, you guys got to watch Trey Burke! You actually got to watch us beat OSU and MSU on a regular basis! If I could trade my sports experience with current students I would do it in a goddamn heartbeat.

Trolling

September 23rd, 2013 at 10:18 PM ^

Thank you. Speaking as someone whose collegiate football experience was bookended by The Horror and Mississippi St., I can say that you won't find me feeling sorry for any students who cannot seem to watch their elite football and basketball teams play on a regular basis.

Trolling

September 23rd, 2013 at 11:08 PM ^

Last time I checked, the only current undergraduate class to have actually witnessed a home loss would be the seniors...their freshman year. Sounds pretty good to me.

EDIT-

I'm just ranting for no reason because it's what people do on the internet. What is lost in my vitriol, and I am trying to say is that people need to gain a little perspective and put these sorts of issues into a larger context. 

Also, yes, this team is far from elite, but at the same time far from the 3-9 and 5-7 products from a few years back.

UNCWolverine

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:52 PM ^

1. The basketball situation was very poorly handled. I completely understand your plight and think Brandon really fucked this one up.

2. The skywriting is absolutely embarrassing and Brandon should do something like match MSU's fundraising efforts to try to save some face.

3. From a football standpoint you will not receive any sympathy from me or seemingly the majority of the alums. I missed one fucking game at Michigan while I was an undergrad and it was for a wedding against my will. I had to deal with multiple 4 loss seasons before being treated to our '97 championship. We actually made the decision to not tailgate for noon games because we looked so forward to each game. The decision to tailgate and lazily stroll into the games in the 2nd Q is justifiably being penalized IMO.

Our OOC schedules have certainly sucked and don't think that season ticket alums such as myself don't hate that shit too. But you reap what you sew and I doubt this is going to change anytime soon.

4. Go blue.

Bando Calrissian

September 23rd, 2013 at 9:57 PM ^

I'm with the students for the sheer fact that this policy was announced after tickets were purchased. Don't oversell the section by 50% if you're not going to tell ticket buyers from the start that's exactly what they're getting into. The whole "we'll give refunds if people don't like it" line only goes so far. This was a poorly implemented policy from an Athletic Department already treading on thin ice with the students' good will. Of course there's going to be pushback.

Nick

September 24th, 2013 at 1:53 AM ^

What if some rich guy bought up every ticket in Michigan Stadium for himself.  

Then nobody would be in the stadium for the game.

Is it OK for him to do what he wants because he paid for them?  I doubt youd answer yes to this hypothetical.

This is just a similar problem on a much smaller scale.

The athletic department is using an arguably distateful tactic, but I kind of like it.

The students eroded the trust of the AD by no showing after purchasing a scarce commodity, and the AD is taking a stand.  We know the AD is a big money grubber, but I believe this move was made with stadium atmosphere as its primary intent, not incremental revenue.

I cant believe some people are so concerned about the ability of people with laissez faire attitudes about attending games to waste more precious space in the stadium.

 

flysociety3

September 23rd, 2013 at 10:03 PM ^

Can anyone please bitch with me about the NEED to raise student ticket prices and implement a fee in order to remove asbestos from the CCRB, but DAVE BRANDON NEEDED TO BUILD A 2.8 MILLION DOLLAR MARQUEE?!

 

goblue1327

September 23rd, 2013 at 10:05 PM ^

I went to basically every game the last four years, and I thought the atmosphere last  year was really really good for a lot of home games. There were empty seats at some games, but probably because there were too many students seats sold to begin with. The problem I have is that you promise 4500 seats and then change your mind at the last second. It comes off as manipulative and just increases DB's already precarious reputation. 

goblue1327

September 24th, 2013 at 12:06 AM ^

False. I'm saying either sell 4500 seats and deal with the fact that not every student seat is going to be filled for Binghamton, or just sell 3000 in the first place. Don't change your policy at the last second. 

I also remember lots of games even last year where the attendance from the general population was subpar, to say the least. Even games like Arkansas and lesser B1G games. 

Nick

September 24th, 2013 at 2:03 AM ^

the problem with selling just 3000 seats is that you cannot selectively remove all the people who wont show up.  If you only get 54% attendance, selling fewer tickets might give you an incrementally higher % attendance like 65% or so, but you would still have like 1000 empty seats in that scenario.

It is the same way when airlines overbook their flights, knowing that a certain small % of passengers wont wind up making it or have to reschedule or whatever.  Sure they risk everyone making it and thus having an overbooked flight and ticking some people off.  But then they give out discounts or free airline miles or free tickets or whatever to make the problem go away.

Any student who consistently no showed games last year has no logical case to complain, though they may have a legal right to complain.  But I dont know why people would much care that they are satisfied customers given their checkered attendance history.

goblue20111

September 24th, 2013 at 9:39 AM ^

Uhh because they're paying fucking customers. Comon seriously if I decide that I have something else to do on a Tuesday other than watch Coppin State in person, am I less of a fan? Seriously, watch a pro-game on a Tuesday night -- they don't sell out either.

Go Blue Rosie

September 23rd, 2013 at 10:17 PM ^

...but does the blogger like anything about Michigan athletics aside from tailgating?



Seriously, though, do students like that ever think about how it must feel to be a player putting it all on the line each week only to see that thousands of students can't bother to put down a beer and get to the stadium on time? Yes, the AD policies may suck but if you are a true fan, aren't you there to support the players? The team? Dave Brandon isn't on the field. Gardner is. Lewan is. Jake Ryan will be. Fitz is back after an awful injury, too. These guys give up a lot-can't we show them our appreciation?

Owl

September 23rd, 2013 at 10:27 PM ^

"For me, no matter how much I disagree with the AD, it's all about cheering for the team."

So this is an interesting thought that I think might get at the heart of some disagreement. Do you go to football games to cheer the team, or because you want to be entertained watching a football game? For me it's 100% the latter, which is why I don't really feel bad about people missing games.