Alarming Trend

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anticallihan

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Someone on the other board pointed this out, and I think everyone that feels compelled to should email Maturi.


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A group of us UW students just bought about 12 sets of Gopher student season tickets, which only cost a measly $77, using the student ID's of some buddies who go to Minnesota but didn't want football tickets. I'm obviously only going to use one of the tickets out of the set, but I figured $77 for the Wisconsin vs Minnesota game this year was worth just buying the whole package and getting the UM student discount!

I recommend the process for any Badger fans- especially students- out there looking to secure cheap and easy tickets to the game early. There are apparently still a bunch of student tickets left. I contacted the UM ticket office to make sure everything would work out, and the said it was perfectly fine as long as a full time UofM student has placed the order with their ID and is able to pick up the tickets in person.

Extremely excited for the rivalry game in the new stadium- I think this rivalry will finally see some of the electricity it has been lacking for the past 20 years... it's about time!
Our goal is to get in the front row of the gopher student section by camping out the night before. We'll see how that works out.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=193&f=2560&t=4276238&p=2&sto=MS_54646565


Also note that many student tickets are already for sale on sites like Stub Hub for hundreds of dollars. Who knows if these are actual U of MN students or Wisconsin students making a quick buck (or both).

Stub Hub

I think a simple requirement of one student ID per ticket, or maybe even two forms of ID can curb this.

I do not think it should be this simple to buy student season tickets from another university, and then on top of that maybe scalp them on sites like Stub Hub.

An alarming trend.
 

you are right. This is alarming. The anger is boiling over...

everyone needs to e-mail Maturi. let him know that student picture-id's matching the student number and name used to buy the ticket are required for every ticket taken at the gate.

please do this. If only for my sake. If there are badger fans taking up the whole front row in our student section, i will end up doing something stupid. I dont want to get kicked out of the game.
 

[email protected]

As I said on the other board in response to this, I would encourage anyone who doesn't like the sound of this whole thing to email Maturi as well. It might not draw immediate change, but what else is there if you're trying to have your voice heard? I already shot an email over there, and am hoping that if a couple dozen people do the same, the person reading Mr. Maturi's email for him will alert him of it and he'll at least take five seconds to consider it.

Some of the points from my email were:
(1) I paid student fees into the stadium, but accepted that I'm no longer a student, the policy has changed, and I'd be unable to sit in the student section. If they're going to make the policy so lax that other fans are going to be able to get access this easily, then why revamp it all in the first place?
(2) If some students (whose student fees helped build the stadium) wanted tickets but are now sold out of the stadium and hordes of visiting fans are working side deals to get in, I imagine there will be a decent-sized backlash against the Athletic Department.
(3) The fact that someone in the ticket office would be as candid about how it might be possible to skirt the system as is portrayed in the original post is pretty off-putting. Ticket office staff should not inform callers how they might be able to have someone else buy them a ticket.
(4) The U should force people to show their U Cards when entering the stadium. It won't completely prevent non-U students from using tickets, as staffers are sure to try to keep lines moving and let anyone who looks similar to the U Card photo in the door, but it would surely curb some of this.
(5) Going forward, the U should consider a system where student tickets are recorded on student IDs, so a student doesn't have a paper ticket but instead just scans their card on the way into the game and is acknowledged as a ticket holder. Honestly, I'm somewhat surprised this wasn't installed in TCF right off the bat.
 

Why doesn't this surprise me? What do you expect? People who can't get to 11:00am games on time and people who leave early can't be expected to be very loyal...
 

parkinglotgopher said:
[email protected]

As I said on the other board in response to this, I would encourage anyone who doesn't like the sound of this whole thing to email Maturi as well. It might not draw immediate change, but what else is there if you're trying to have your voice heard? I already shot an email over there, and am hoping that if a couple dozen people do the same, the person reading Mr. Maturi's email for him will alert him of it and he'll at least take five seconds to consider it.

Some of the points from my email were:
(1) I paid student fees into the stadium, but accepted that I'm no longer a student, the policy has changed, and I'd be unable to sit in the student section. If they're going to make the policy so lax that other fans are going to be able to get access this easily, then why revamp it all in the first place?
(2) If some students (whose student fees helped build the stadium) wanted tickets but are now sold out of the stadium and hordes of visiting fans are working side deals to get in, I imagine there will be a decent-sized backlash against the Athletic Department.
(3) The fact that someone in the ticket office would be as candid about how it might be possible to skirt the system as is portrayed in the original post is pretty off-putting. Ticket office staff should not inform callers how they might be able to have someone else buy them a ticket.
(4) The U should force people to show their U Cards when entering the stadium. It won't completely prevent non-U students from using tickets, as staffers are sure to try to keep lines moving and let anyone who looks similar to the U Card photo in the door, but it would surely curb some of this.
(5) Going forward, the U should consider a system where student tickets are recorded on student IDs, so a student doesn't have a paper ticket but instead just scans their card on the way into the game and is acknowledged as a ticket holder. Honestly, I'm somewhat surprised this wasn't installed in TCF right off the bat.
Click to expand...

I'd also recommend e-mailing:
- Coach Brewster: [email protected]
- the Gopher Ticket Office: [email protected]

If you are a member of the alumni association, I'd suggest including them too: [email protected]

With Brewster's passion for a home field advantage I'm sure this would get a reaction. The ticket office should also be aware what it's employees are saying.
 


4starrecruit said:
Why doesn't this surprise me? What do you expect? People who can't get to 11:00am games on time and people who leave early can't be expected to be very loyal...
Click to expand...

In this case it looks like the issue is that there are Wisky natives who attend the U via reciprocity and are using their student status to help friends at UW. 11am attendance is a problem across the B10, not just at MN.
 

at the basketball game this year security made a girl sitting close to the front take off her badger shirt or she would have to leave her spot, this was on top of most of the students around her making her cry...it was some funny stuff...it would be funny if they did try and camp out there night would be hell
 





4starrecruit said:
Why doesn't this surprise me? What do you expect? People who can't get to 11:00am games on time and people who leave early can't be expected to be very loyal...
Click to expand...

Coming from the King of Loyalty....how rich.
 

Goldmember said:
Easily resolved, as demonstrated by Penn State.
Click to expand...

I was really surprised that the U didn't move to this system in light of revamping its student ticket selling policy. Also seems like something that would work quite well at hockey games, where they've been attempting to crack down on non-students using student tickets for the past few years.
 

parkinglotgopher said:
I was really surprised that the U didn't move to this system in light of revamping its student ticket selling policy. Also seems like something that would work quite well at hockey games, where they've been attempting to crack down on non-students using student tickets for the past few years.
Click to expand...

Has the U even said what the policy will be to get into games? This could be in the works...
 

I like the ID-swiping idea because it could create a "time of attendance" record for each student. Should demand get to the point that a lottery should is necessary for student tickets, the earlierst and most regular atendees should get preferential treatment in that process. This system makes the data readily available.

$45 would have gotten anyone into the student section at Camp Randall when they played Minnesota. So this problem is not unique to Minnesota. But having so many Wisconsinites and Iowans roaming our city streets (looking for junk food, and women too intoxicated to resist their undesireable sexual advances, respectively), means that such a system would have added value.
 



GoAUpher said:
Has the U even said what the policy will be to get into games? This could be in the works...
Click to expand...

Anti-

Thank you for your concern on this issue. We have implemented a way to avoid this by checking student ID’s on game day. In this case on game days we have made sure that the use of student section tickets are used by only University of Minnesota students with valid UCards.

If you have any further questions or concerns please e-mail our Customer Relations Manager, Dan Cohen, directly at [email protected] or call (612) 624-5280. If you like, you can stop by our office in the lobby of Mariucci Arena or visit us again at www.gophersports.com.

Thanks for supporting Golden Gopher Athletics,

Gopher Ticket Office
 

something tells me...

there might have been a thought or two about this subject over at the ticket office. After a couple of years of research and study of other situations around the country, the ticket office might just have a clue. Despite graduating with a cumulative GPA from the U of just under 3.0, I would put my money on the ticket office to outsmart those who think a scam for student tickets will be easy.
 

Goldmember said:
I like the ID-swiping idea because it could creates a "time of attendance" record for each student. Should demand get to the point that a lottery should become necessary for student tickets, the earlierst and most regular atendees should get preferential treatment in that process. This system makes the data readily available.

$45 would have gotten anyone into the student section at Camp Randall when they played Minnesota. So this problem is not unique to Minnesota. But having so many Wisconsinites and Iowans roaming our city streets (looking for junk food, and women too intoxicated to resist their undesireable sexual advances, respectively), means that such a system would have added value.
Click to expand...

exactly! no offense to those who have, but there are not many minnesotans looking to move to iowa city or madison after graduating. it sucks that so many of those smelly bastards seem inclined to move to minneapolis, but i guess that is just the way it is.

student tickets need to be tied to student id's electronically. no paper tickets maturi! if a student is not able to use their ticket for a game then the electronic ticket for that game goes back into a queue for other U of M students to access who were not able to get student tickets in the first place.
 

This is great news! Sounds like the U ticket office thought ahead here...

anticallihan said:
Anti-

Thank you for your concern on this issue. We have implemented a way to avoid this by checking student ID’s on game day. In this case on game days we have made sure that the use of student section tickets are used by only University of Minnesota students with valid UCards.

If you have any further questions or concerns please e-mail our Customer Relations Manager, Dan Cohen, directly at [email protected] or call (612) 624-5280. If you like, you can stop by our office in the lobby of Mariucci Arena or visit us again at www.gophersports.com.

Thanks for supporting Golden Gopher Athletics,

Gopher Ticket Office
Click to expand...

thanks anticallihan! i certainly hope that they tell all of their ticket takers to follow this policy "to the t" and to not get lazy about it. u of m student tickets should be for and used by u of m students only. in this particular case i say F capitalism! gopher game day is for u of m students and fans.

so to any of you little punks who may have already posted your student season ticket package out on stub hub, etc. and to any becky, hogeye or other fan who has already sent money for those "supposed" gopher student season ticket packages i just have a few words to say:

HA! HA! YOU ARE SCREWED! HOPE YOU DON'T GET YOUR MONEY BACK EITHER BITCHES! :clap:
 

Bring back the electricity from 20 yrs ago??? I was there...it wasn't electric. Barry and his recognition of the NCAA leveling the playing field via scholarships created the first UW electricity since Alan Ameche. Nope John Jardine, Dave McClain and Don Morton didn't bring much. I give the UW Madison for posting decent numbers the past 15 years and getting off the Big Ten rock bottom. 15 years ago games were regional with a few on some network being national, the dish and the internet changed everything and national exposure = big dough ......Madison came into their football valhalla at a the right time. I hope we can do the same. doesn't hurt when your College president joins Clinton's cabinet either.
 

It would be just as easy

to beat the crap out of someone dressed in red.

Go Gophers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

GoBigGold said:
15 years ago games were regional with a few on some network being national, the dish and the internet changed everything and national exposure = big dough ......
Click to expand...

In 2003 and 2004 Minnesota had 13 games on national television. This is more exposure than most NFL teams get. And it is just a taste of what could be. With a huge alumni base and location in the middle of a Top-15 market, Minnesota is a sleeping giant. The networks work hard to put Minnesota on national television as soon as they are close to being ranked.
 

Thank goodness!!! I feel so much better about that. Checking id's at the gate is how it should be. Sucks for those douche wussconsin students who bought tickets thinking they could get in. Also sucks for those douche traitors who bought tickets thinking they could pawn them off.
 

I just got an email from Maturi:

"Our system for TCF Bank Stadium requires a student to pick up his/her tickets
by showing their ID and then again showing their ID as they enter each game.
It is not "fool proof" but right now the best system we have. A few more wins
and, hopefully, our students will not want to give their tickets up to others"
 

GophenGolder said:
I just got an email from Maturi:

"Our system for TCF Bank Stadium requires a student to pick up his/her tickets
by showing their ID and then again showing their ID as they enter each game.
It is not "fool proof" but right now the best system we have. A few more wins
and, hopefully, our students will not want to give their tickets up to others"
Click to expand...

This should cut down on the scalping, but I don't think it will make a huge difference with regards to Sconnies who are using a friend's ID. Badger students will get in since I doubt people working the gate will do anything more than look to see if the ticket holder has an ID (not whether or not it matches). Hopefully, they'd scrutinize someone in Red a little more closely, but as Maturi notes this is far from foolproof.
 

MrGopher said:
Thank goodness!!! I feel so much better about that. Checking id's at the gate is how it should be. Sucks for those douche wussconsin students who bought tickets thinking they could get in. Also sucks for those douche traitors who bought tickets thinking they could pawn them off.
Click to expand...

Hmm. I wonder if things would be any different if the situation was reversed and UW-Wisconsin was in Hudson and the UM was in Fergus Falls. And the UM had been to two or three Rose Bowls within the past decade.

I still believe that 10-12,000, or maybe even more, Wisky and Hogeye fans will "find" a way to get into TCF.
 

GophenGolder said:
I just got an email from Maturi:

"Our system for TCF Bank Stadium requires a student to pick up his/her tickets
by showing their ID and then again showing their ID as they enter each game.
It is not "fool proof" but right now the best system we have. A few more wins
and, hopefully, our students will not want to give their tickets up to others"
Click to expand...

good to hear. do students have to pick up each ticket prior to each game with their ID? or do they receive their full allotment of tickets at once?
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Hmm. I wonder if things would be any different if the situation was reversed and UW-Wisconsin was in Hudson and the UM was in Fergus Falls. And the UM had been to two or three Rose Bowls within the past decade.

I still believe that 10-12,000, or maybe even more, Wisky and Hogeye fans will "find" a way to get into TCF.
Click to expand...

bayfield - i will have to respectfully disagree with your logic here. who in their right minds would place flagship universities in hudson, wi or fergus falls, mn?! ;)

f-ck becky! f-ck the hogeyes!
 

GophenGolder said:
I just got an email from Maturi:

"Our system for TCF Bank Stadium requires a student to pick up his/her tickets
by showing their ID and then again showing their ID as they enter each game.
It is not "fool proof" but right now the best system we have. A few more wins
and, hopefully, our students will not want to give their tickets up to others"
Click to expand...

With out redesigning the U-card, I can't see a better system. The cards have gotten progressively cheaper over the last ten years, and having witnessed the failure rate in libraries, I can say I wouldn't want be waiting behind the drunk that can't get his valid card to read, and you better believe it will happen about 1500 times on game day. If they redesigned the U card to be of the more robust radio transmission method where they can be simply waved in front of a proximity reader than I would be all for a move toward Penn State's system, but until then this will help. Handing off U-cards is a deterrent more so than in years past when one simply sold the ticket after presenting a u-card at purchase. Are you going to buy a U-card on stubhub? It works fairly well at hockey games, I can't remember the last time I saw some ass in a Wisconsin shirt in the student section, compared to the regular occurrence of yesteryear in the Metrodome
 

GoAUpher said:
This should cut down on the scalping, but I don't think it will make a huge difference with regards to Sconnies who are using a friend's ID. Badger students will get in since I doubt people working the gate will do anything more than look to see if the ticket holder has an ID (not whether or not it matches). Hopefully, they'd scrutinize someone in Red a little more closely, but as Maturi notes this is far from foolproof.
Click to expand...

have to disagree. the number of sconnies who are going to convince a u of m student (friend from wisconsin or not) to put their u of m picture ID and its university priviledges "on the line" just so they can try and trick a ticket taker into getting in the stadium illegally with an invalid student season ticket is going to very minimal.

second, unless you personally know all of the people who will be working tickets at the new stadium entrances i think it is a rather large leap to just assume that they will all "turn a blind eye" to some douche bag in red or a douche bag in yellow/black who is holding a u of m student season ticket and flashing a u of m picture ID that is obviously not them. i would think that most will have a little more respect for themselves and their jobs than you are letting on.

and i also think the ticket administration office is going to be doing some "training" with them before the stadium opens to make sure they understand this is not acceptable under any circumstances. in fact i am going to send an email to the guy who is in charge of the whole process to encourage that training and conversation happens with the ticket takers well ahead of time and i would suggest that others do the same. his name is: Dan Cohen (Customer Relations Manager). you can contact him directly at [email protected] or call (612) 624-5280.
 

putting the idiots on ignore is a glorious thing. Now if I could just figure out how to put the posts responding to the idiots on ignore as well I'd be all set.
 

Bronko Nagurski Gopher said:
bayfield - i will have to respectfully disagree with your logic here. who in their right minds would place flagship universities in hudson, wi or fergus falls, mn?! ;)

f-ck becky! f-ck the hogeyes!
Click to expand...

You missed my point there Bronko. Visualize the Wisky/Minny state line about 20 miles west of Madtown is that will help your though process.

Anyhow, expect a bunch of red on Sept 12.
 

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