Football student ticket update

[GopherCrazy]

just got this email from gophersports...

Congratulations on securing your student football season ticket for
the 2009 season! We are very close to selling out the tickets allotted
for current U of M students- less than 300 remain. With the opening of
TCF Bank Stadium, we are ready for a memorable season as football
returns to campus for the first time in almost 30 years!

Here are a few updates for 2009 student football season ticket
holders:

- Join the new “We are... Minnesota” student group and help us promote
school spirit and create a true home field advantage for the Gophers.
This group of students will receive early entrance to the stadium and
will have prime lower level seats adjacent to the band and spirit
squads. All that is required is that you come early, follow the cheers
and be loud! For more information on joining the group, please e-mail
us at [email protected].

-Your student football season ticket will not be available for pick-up
until late August or early September. You will need to be a registered
student for the Fall semester with at least 6 credits and show your
UCARD in order to pick-up your ticket.

-You will need to present a valid University of Minnesota ID Card with
your student game ticket at the entrance to get into TCF Bank Stadium
for any home game.

-All student ticket information will be sent to you this summer and
will be available on the ticket office website at gophersports.com
<http://www.gophersports.com>

Again, we will be communicating all the details for the 2009 football
season later this summer via email. Thanks for your support of Gopher
Football!

 

[pharmacygopher]

I like it.

 

[Bronko Nagurski Gopher]

just got this email from gophersports...

Congratulations on securing your student football season ticket for
the 2009 season! We are very close to selling out the tickets allotted
for current U of M students- less than 300 remain. With the opening of
TCF Bank Stadium, we are ready for a memorable season as football
returns to campus for the first time in almost 30 years!

Here are a few updates for 2009 student football season ticket
holders:

- Join the new “We are... Minnesota” student group and help us promote
school spirit and create a true home field advantage for the Gophers.
This group of students will receive early entrance to the stadium and
will have prime lower level seats adjacent to the band and spirit
squads. All that is required is that you come early, follow the cheers
and be loud! For more information on joining the group, please e-mail
us at [email protected].

-Your student football season ticket will not be available for pick-up
until late August or early September. You will need to be a registered
student for the Fall semester with at least 6 credits and show your
UCARD in order to pick-up your ticket.

-You will need to present a valid University of Minnesota ID Card with
your student game ticket at the entrance to get into TCF Bank Stadium
for any home game.

-All student ticket information will be sent to you this summer and
will be available on the ticket office website at gophersports.com
<http://www.gophersports.com>

Again, we will be communicating all the details for the 2009 football
season later this summer via email. Thanks for your support of Gopher
Football!

love it! i can't wait to see how many 30-40 year old cheap bastards (gopher fans, becky fans or hogeye fans) waste their time and money trying to get their cheap, lame ass hands on a student ticket that is intended soley for U of M students only to be "turned away" at the entrance when they try to get in. have fun listening to the game from the parking lots!

 

[mggoph]

I'm just hoping I can get my son one of the 2000 tickets allotted for incoming freshman.

 

[RailBaronYarr]

I think the people that really get screwed in this scenario are the people who are just graduating. They couldn't buy tickets this spring since they weren't registered. They most likely never had season tickets - why would they? They have been able to buy student tickets and probably didn't have the dough to drop an extra $250 for a ticket they wouldn't be using. They now are graduated with no priority for points (that whole system was set up a year an a half before they were graduating), and could get themselves on the waiting list if they wanted, but will most likely not get tickets (or if there are any available it would be donation required - sorry, but new grads typically can't afford ~$700 per ticket). Can you imagine how bad it would suck to watch the stadium go up for the last year and a half, telling yourself "only one more year in the dome and then I can watch football outside" only to be surprised with a punch in the crotch?

It has been posted many, many times, but a recent grad section would be VERY nice. Give people who have graduated that have spent 3 or 4 years buying tickets (or were in the band and have no ticket history...) the chance to continue to come to games. It would have worked well for year one in the stadium since that is when they did up all these Gopher points for priority and graduating students could get a chance to prove they would be ticket holders. Starting with this year there will be a huge disparity between the young and the old - recent grads will have zero to little shot of getting back in to that stadium for a LONG time. But I suppose that is how it works for hockey too. Get yourself on the waiting list and hope for the best.

 

[parkinglotgopher]

I like everything about the policy, at least how it's written. Enforcement on gameday as we get into the season will be the true test, however.

Seriously though, they settled on the name "We Are... Minnesota" for the name of the spirit squad? Did they only have 60 seconds to come up with an idea?

 

[dpodoll68]

-You will need to present a valid University of Minnesota ID Card with your student game ticket at the entrance to get into TCF Bank Stadium
for any home game.

Just playing devil's advocate...note how it says "a valid...ID card"; not "your valid...ID Card". It also says nothing about matching your face to the picture on the ID.

 

[anticallihan]

I think the people that really get screwed in this scenario are the people who are just graduating. They couldn't buy tickets this spring since they weren't registered. They most likely never had season tickets - why would they? They have been able to buy student tickets and probably didn't have the dough to drop an extra $250 for a ticket they wouldn't be using. They now are graduated with no priority for points (that whole system was set up a year an a half before they were graduating), and could get themselves on the waiting list if they wanted, but will most likely not get tickets (or if there are any available it would be donation required - sorry, but new grads typically can't afford ~$700 per ticket). Can you imagine how bad it would suck to watch the stadium go up for the last year and a half, telling yourself "only one more year in the dome and then I can watch football outside" only to be surprised with a punch in the crotch?

It has been posted many, many times, but a recent grad section would be VERY nice. Give people who have graduated that have spent 3 or 4 years buying tickets (or were in the band and have no ticket history...) the chance to continue to come to games. It would have worked well for year one in the stadium since that is when they did up all these Gopher points for priority and graduating students could get a chance to prove they would be ticket holders. Starting with this year there will be a huge disparity between the young and the old - recent grads will have zero to little shot of getting back in to that stadium for a LONG time. But I suppose that is how it works for hockey too. Get yourself on the waiting list and hope for the best.

This is how it will always be. Nothing you can do about it, but get on the list. To be honest though, I saw this coming and bought season tickets 3 seasons ago.

It wasn't like this was a surprise. They could have got on the wait list very early in the year, and had no issues.

 

[parkinglotgopher]

To be honest though, I saw this coming and bought season tickets 3 seasons ago.

I advocate as hard as anyone for a recent grad section, but I'm with you on this one Anti. Friends and I saw this coming and starting buying big boy tickets on the side and selling them to fellow Gopher fans who couldn't/didn't buy student section tickets. Only ate about $100/year (less than $10/month), and considered that an investment in future tickets.

 

[The Big L]

Made my morning reading that e-mail.

I'm assuming it will be similar to how they check student hockey tickets, which seems to be fairly effective.

 

[MrGopher]

just the prospect of possibly being turned away at the gate will severely limit the number of visitors attempting to get in. Thats good for starters.

I dont know how many of you have gone through the process for students getting into hockey games this year, but they really do check that names on the id's match tickets, faces, and everything else. Its no big deal, and im sure that this process can completely translate to the football stadium (just on a grander scale).

Also, after just one (1) year of wisc fans only getting a handful of visitors in the students section. There will be hundreds of less wiscy folks who will even think it's an option anymore.

Add to that, hopefully, a reputation for a bit of hostility towards any people who actually do sneak in, and that will diminish the number even more.

All in all, im optimistic about the student section being all gold.

 

[grunkiejr]

I like everything about the policy, at least how it's written. Enforcement on gameday as we get into the season will be the true test, however.

Seriously though, they settled on the name "We Are... Minnesota" for the name of the spirit squad? Did they only have 60 seconds to come up with an idea?

It seems to me like someone wanted to emulate the crowd at Beaver Stadium.

The "We are...Penn State" cheers still make me laugh. It's like, yeah, I know who we're playing, thanks for reminding me what it says on the other side of the scoreboard.

 

[gopher56]

Just playing devil's advocate...note how it says "a valid...ID card"; not "your valid...ID Card". It also says nothing about matching your face to the picture on the ID.

I don't think student ticket scalpers are going to give their id away to a stranger and the amount of people that go to the U and give their ID to an enemy fan are pretty few....i hope

 

[gopher56]

err, i meant people at the U that have friends that go to other colleges. So hopefully their are more students that are interested in going to games instead of making some money off their friends.

 

[MadisonRaisedGopherCrazed]

I think the people that really get screwed in this scenario are the people who are just graduating. They couldn't buy tickets this spring since they weren't registered.

Not that many of the posters here would agree with this based on the comments I'm reading. Could someone graduating in the spring just register for classes in the fall and then drop the classes once they picked up their tickets for a 100% refund? Not sure if the system would let you pick up more classes after graduating.

 

[RailBaronYarr]

PLG/Anticallahan - I agree that people COULD have got on the wait list. But that was their best option if they didn't couldn't aford buying season tickets up front (that cost more than you could buy those seats for individually). And until VERY recently, it was pretty much assumed that season ticket holders would be renewing completely and the wait list would not get tickets. It was a SURPRISE that anyone on the wait-list would have the opportunity to buy tickets. Also, there has been a ton of speculation even from the most faithful here on the site as to how students would be let in to the stadium (or how many tickets could be bought, at what price, all the details). Until this week basically, a student could have reasonably assumed that getting in wouldn't be that difficult (it isn't at many other B10 schools with a good student following, like WI, MSU, Iowa, as many here have pointed out). Add to that poor communication to students from our athl. dept. and you surely have a lot of people who would/will be caught unawares.

Yes, I know that this is how it will be moving in to the future - gotta get on the wait list if you want big boy tickets. But I think it's hard to say that every single person who thought they would be graduating in the next 2 years (after they started work on the stadium) and had student tickets should have started buying a second set up front each year in anticipation that they would be held out of the stadium. And it definitely sucks either way for a person who didn't/couldn't buy real season tickets to watch that thing go up (with their own student fees), knowing they won't get in next year or likely the following one.

 

[parkinglotgopher]

But I think it's hard to say that every single person who thought they would be graduating in the next 2 years (after they started work on the stadium) and had student tickets should have started buying a second set up front each year in anticipation that they would be held out of the stadium. And it definitely sucks either way for a person who didn't/couldn't buy real season tickets to watch that thing go up (with their own student fees), knowing they won't get in next year or likely the following one.

I feel for you, I really do. I paid student fees on the stadium and will never get the benefit of student tickets either. I wholeheartedly support the idea of a "recent grad" section, but if they didn't implement it for this year, I only see one other opportunity in the future to do so, and that's when/if the stadium is ever expanded. By that point, I doubt anyone here (unless they're still in high school now) would qualify as a recent grad any longer. So it's simply become a reality that the system, like most systems, created some casualties.

If you really want to rail against something (see what I did there, word play, delicious), get up in arms about the fact that student tickets are now being tracked for Gopher Point totals, but weren't in the past. I'd really like to have those five years of student football tickets have helped me when selection time rolled through, but oh well.

 

[WIgopher]

I'm not sure I agree Rail. When I graduated I had to look at my finances and was not able to get tickets my first year out of school. I just couldn't afford it. I saved up and the next year I got them. Part of being a student is the perks you get. As many on this board have said, the college game day is more for the students than anything. As normal fans we're just lucky the stadium is big enough for us to buy some tickets. While you are correct that it might suck that you wouldn't get tickets, this still follows the line that going to something like a Gopher Football game is a privilege and not a right just because you're an alumn.

 

[anticallihan]

Barron-

I know it sucks, but I am glad students got caught off guard and that they cannot all get in. That is a good problem. It is not something you can get last second anymore, and they will have to buy tickets from friends or online.

But every college in the nation with a good athletic team has a wait list for season tickets.

I was buying student tickets until I realized it was likely we were going to get a stadium. So I ponied up and bought 4 season tickets and sold 2 of them to friends.

Now for graduation seniors, this is just something that sucks. But if they were true fans, they would have got on the list.

Buying season tickets for 95% of fans for any sport is a sacrifice of time and money. I enjoy Gopher Football and I go to 1-2 away games a year and try to make every home game.

I don't think a recent grad section is a good idea, because it is not a logical idea unless season ticket demand drops once outdoor football isn't so new. But still, when fans graduate from this section? What if there is a wait list for that? What is priority?

I also think student tickets might count to Gopher Points in the future. That is why they are forcing everyone to sign up online.

 

[WIgopher]

Barron-
I don't think a recent grad section is a good idea, because it is not a logical idea unless season ticket demand drops once outdoor football isn't so new. But still, when fans graduate from this section? What if there is a wait list for that? What is priority?

This is exactly what I think too. If the Gophers get real good and the wait list doesn't go away and only gets longer than you get what, 2 years in a recent grad section then you have to wait still for tickets. The same goes for hockey...I'm still on that wait list, and will probably never get tickets based on the turn around of those, but the recent grad is no good for hockey for the same reason...pay for a few years to continue going to games, then you have to wait.

The system they have is the most fair for current non-student season ticket holders. While it sucks for those just graduating, as far as the U is concerned, you're no longer a student and you are now part of the masses and should fall under the same umbrella as everyone else. It sucks, I know that...but it's just the way it is sometimes.

 

[AeroGopher]

My $.02

I have a feeling that the vast majority of the people on the wait list are recent graduates. I know at least a dozen names on that list between 1 and 1000. There are a lot of people they know that are recent grads that are also on the list. However many of us are in the unique situation that we can still get student tickets, whether its because we're grad students (like myself) or know people not using their student ticket (like band members). We are planning on getting the points and options of having adult season tickets and giving or selling them to our family and recent U graduates on a per-game basis, while still sitting in the student section. That way we have another year of student section fun and still benefit as adult season ticket holders. All of my recent grad friends keep their U-cards anyway because of the occasional benefit of flashing it at a bar or movie theater for discounts.

 

[pharmacygopher]

I have a feeling that the vast majority of the people on the wait list are recent graduates. I know at least a dozen names on that list between 1 and 1000. There are a lot of people they know that are recent grads that are also on the list. However many of us are in the unique situation that we can still get student tickets, whether its because we're grad students (like myself) or know people not using their student ticket (like band members). We are planning on getting the points and options of having adult season tickets and giving or selling them to our family and recent U graduates on a per-game basis, while still sitting in the student section. That way we have another year of student section fun and still benefit as adult season ticket holders. All of my recent grad friends keep their U-cards anyway because of the occasional benefit of flashing it at a bar or movie theater for discounts.

Exactly what I'm doing. I still have 4 years as a potential student season ticket holder and I'm ~1,300 on the waitlist. My friends and family (and probably die hard Gopher fans on GH) will benefit with tickets while I'm in the student section. I'll start accumulating points in the meantime as a bonus.

 

[RailBaronYarr]

I just want to point out that I am not bitching about myself. I have been out of school now for 2 years on the dot, and have had a job for that time. I am going back to the U for Part-time MBA starting this fall, so I will have student tickets once again. I willingly chose to only get student tickets once I graduated because I didn't have the cash to buy both sets (and didn't think there was enough demand to sell the regular tix to people). I also really really wanted to sit in the student section as I didn't get that opportunity for 4 years since I was in the marching band. I realized that not buying season tickets would limit me from getting regular tickets, which is why I put myself on the wait list as soon as I could.

I also have stated I understand that recent grads will always be getting the shaft, it is an inevitability. Unless a recent grad section is created (which it won't), they always will have a very hard time getting in the stadium. And it probably should be that way - as long as there are season ticket holders who want to keep hanging on to them and a list of people waiting to get them, I consider that a good thing.

It is this one year scenario where a graduating senior can't just get tickets (supply finally has met demand) where they normally could have in the past, and then also won't be able to get in as a "student" anymore either. Yes, they enjoyed Gopher football for the past 4 years at a subsidized price and shouldn't expect to always get in for cheap when not a student, but the inaugural season will be fantastic and some of them may miss out (whether it is their own fault or not).

My original post wasn't meant to be bitching, just pointing out that there are some drawbacks to the student ticket policy. I personally feel that having some opposing fans isn't a bad thing - as long as they can't just easily get them, show up in large hordes, and being super arrogant about it at the same time. It encourages good sportsmanship and fun times (assuming their fans aren't a$$holes). Let's be honest, though, we can create whatever ticket policy we want, but us winning (and specifically against them) will curtail this the most.

 

[jjgopher]

yeah i'm sorta confused as to what the rule means. i just recently graduated, and can't really afford to pay the $250 for season tickets. luckily, two of my best friends that are in pharmacy school can't go to games on saturdays and got me and my best friend season tickets for us. so yeah i just figured we could use our U Cards to get in, but since we are no longer students, they aren't valid. we wil have no problem borrowing theirs for games, if that's what the rule means. but if otherwise we are screwed, and it would have been nice to know the rule before the selling of student tickets started.

 

[anticallihan]

yeah i'm sorta confused as to what the rule means. i just recently graduated, and can't really afford to pay the $250 for season tickets. luckily, two of my best friends that are in pharmacy school can't go to games on saturdays and got me and my best friend season tickets for us. so yeah i just figured we could use our U Cards to get in, but since we are no longer students, they aren't valid. we wil have no problem borrowing theirs for games, if that's what the rule means. but if otherwise we are screwed, and it would have been nice to know the rule before the selling of student tickets started.

Without scanning, there is no way to know if the ID is valid.

No dates.. nothing on them. Right?

 

[jjgopher]

yeah there's no dates on them. The only way to tell if they're valid is by scanning them. So it sounds like they will have the technology there to scan every U Card to make sure. The question is... Can you use the person's U Card that matches the tickets? I'm obvoiusly not going to pass as a Courtney... So will I not be able to get in?

 

[GoAUpher]

yeah there's no dates on them. The only way to tell if they're valid is by scanning them. So it sounds like they will have the technology there to scan every U Card to make sure. The question is... Can you use the person's U Card that matches the tickets? I'm obvoiusly not going to pass as a Courtney... So will I not be able to get in?

If they are being super strict on how they check the ID's you have trouble. Otherwise I bet you'll get in and you can probably use your own U Card to do it. No one will know until the season starts. The Q is are you willing to pony up the $$$ for the seats knowing you might not be able to use them.

 

[ColNathanJessup]

Add to that poor communication to students from our athl. dept. and you surely have a lot of people who would/will be caught unawares.

I'm not saying communication couldn't be/have been better but as you basically stated, alot of this is a work in progress. They are learning and implementing things as they go along. You'll never make everyone happy. I think all in all, they've done a heck of a job.

 

[parkinglotgopher]

but if otherwise we are screwed, and it would have been nice to know the rule before the selling of student tickets started.

This discussion came up when people were trying to figure out how student tickets would be handled at the gate prior to the tickets going on sale. The best argument I've heard is, sure, it would have been nice to know ahead of time, but if you're an actual student and using the ticket as they've been designed to be used (as in, by students) there was no concern over how the policy would work. You'd get in regardless. The only people who feel slighted by the fact that the policy is still a bit vague are those trying to skirt the system.

And before you jump all over me for being a stickler about student tickets, I want to reiterate that I too paid student fees on the stadium and am a recent graduate. I'd much prefer to sit in the student section than anywhere else in the stadium, but saw the writing on the wall and starting purchasing tickets with my friends three years ago to ensure our spot in the stadium. I know some people say they couldn't afford this, but it's not like I was some rich kid. I made a conscious choice to sacrifice other things - eating out, going to the bar - during a month each spring to scrounge up the $250 for tickets and then worked hard to find Gopher fans to buy the five tickets in our group game-to-game to try and recover that money. I genuinely feel for those who are recent grads and are feeling slighted about being left out now after having paid to help build that stadium, but there were options to avoid being in that situation.

 

[jjgopher]

I have a hard time believing as long as you have the U Card present that matches the name on the Season tickets, they won't let you in. I guess I'll just have to wait and see. I could contact the ticket office and ask, but with The U's ticket dept., the odds of them knowing or telling me the correct answer are slim to none