I think it's time we change our ticket lottery system. Too many kids get tickets to the games and then just don't go, or leave early or whatever. I have friends at UMD and they have a points system, you get points for different athletic events and the more points you have the more likely you are to get tickets to football or basketball games. Even for basketball it would be great. I hated seeing empty seats last year against Duke, that's right, people didn't even show up to see us play against DUKE! One year removed from beating them even!
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I Agree
VT needs to take a look at other colleges student ticket lotteries, figure out who else has good ones, and try to incorporate their ideas, there is always a better way of doing something.
I think that would be a cool idea
I would love for the hardcores to get a ticket over the fairweathers. I wouldnt even mind a hardcore getting 2 tickets first before the rest are dumped on a fairweather fan, because that hardcore fan will find someone to bring to the game that will bring it 30 minutes before kick off to the end of the game.
Go back to getting in line and waiting
I remember having to line up and wrap ourselves around the Drill Field while we wait for the Ticket office to open up first thing in the morning to get our Miami tickets in 1999. We had to do for the Syracuse game that year too. That will separate the fair weather fans from the hardcore fans. Hand them out a first come first serve basis. It requires some sacrifice that only the devoted fans will follow through on.
Exactly. I remember always seeing people waiting in line. They would deserve the tickets over people who think its just something to do on a Saturday afternoon.
(I would've stood in line, but was in VTCC so no need)
I was in VTCC too. Was on the Skipper Crew.
But I took a fifth year as a civilian. Didn't mind one bit waiting in line to get my tickets that year. Would have done it any year.
Don't even get me started on this subject
I saw one of our fellow students selling a student ticket for the Georgia Tech game a few weeks back. He was asking 80 BUCKS for a FREE TICKET that he was GIVEN by the school. When asked why he was selling it, all he said was...
"a brothers gotta eat."
Are you fuggin kidding me?! You're gonna abuse the system just because your ass is THAT greedy to rip off another student who is dying to go to the game for 80 bucks?! Get that weak shit out of here.
I could write a book about our student ticket lottery, but it's late at night and it just gets me more mad the more I think about it. I will say this though, a first come first serve basis would have exponential results compared to this sham of a system where someone that can't even name a single player on the team besides Logan Thomas can enter the lottery at free will (and yes, there are a handful of students just like that). True die-hard fans would show up hours before and wait in line to get a ticket for the FSU game in a few weeks (for example). But instead, tickets are gonna be distributed to god knows who, and in turn, those FREE tickets students were GIVEN by the school will be selling $65 a pop, at the very least, and those students who could bring the student section back to its normal life will be watching it in their room.
It's a shit system, and to everyone who says our student section has taken a downfall, this is what it all boils down to.
Rant over, goodnight.
As an RA and diehard fan
I wanted to report most of those kids because for starters, it's against school policy. Technically, if they are busted for it, they lose the ability to enter the lottery. I've heard that it's for as long as they remain at the school from some people and for the rest of the year from others. Not sure which. Regardless, it pissed me off. I gave extra tickets to friends that wanted to go to the games. I will only pay or sell for face value and unless they are great seats (first 5 rows or something) I won't ever pay more than face value. True Hokie fans should want to fill the stadium with Hokies. That doesn't mean ripping your fellow Hokie off so you can make a quick buck.
Yep, I sent numerous students messages last year
regarding this matter, telling them basically what you said, with a few curse words added in.
And about the school policy, Tech is either too lazy or too stupid to do anything about it. I know that on the bottom of each ticket and as well as in the email you get when you win the lottery, it state that selling them is against policy and if they find out, you'll lose privileges for the rest of the year or whatever, just like you said. But I haven't heard of a single person getting in trouble over this, not a single one. If Tech went to the Facebook groups right now, they could nail hundreds of students in the span of an hour. It's not that hard.
Facebook groups
I work in Cassell and had a friend that worked for the ticket office. Whenever they have a break they look on facebook and other sites for people doing this, but overall the university needs a better system.
I know it sucks and all
But I've always looked at it this way. I'd rather have the guy that is willing to drop 80 bucks for a ticket in the stadium than the guy that was trying to sell the ticket.
Agree
There's two sides to the spectrum. One is that students are abusing the system, cheating the school. The other is that the true fans are getting shafted and not getting into the stadium.
But I'd rather not pay 80 bucks
Because some turd got a ticket and only wanted to make money while I didn't get one and actually wanted to go to them game.
Also True
I got 2 tickets through the lottery my Freshman year and was forced to buy tickets for every other home game (I paid 35$ for JMU....)
Lottery isn't the problem
One redeeming thing I can say about the lottery is that its completely unbiased. Totally random. If that's not fair, what is? Almost every system that you'd implement would favor Upperclassmen. Maybe that's not a bad thing, but who are We to make that call? I never had to deal with the lottery because I cheered, but imagine if you didn't get to go to a game until your Junior year. From what I hear, they were giving away tickets to the Austin Peay & Bowling Green games the Thursday and Friday before those games.
In the end, I don't think the lottery system is the problem. Give students a better product on the field and they'll show up/stay.
As far as basketball goes, unless something has changed, you can go right after tip off and show your student ID and they'll let you in on the side of Cassel.
Re: Maryland Points
My brother went to UMD, literally would walk in, scan for his points, and walk out. Is that really a better system then the lottery?
Think about it though, how many people would go to a women's soccer game on a Wednesday night? Even if it is just to scan in and leave. The only ones I can think of are the ones who really want to get basketball or football tickets.