By Michael Kennedy
I have bought student tickets every year for the past three years – both football and basketball, every year. Imagine my dismay when I picked up my tickets this year and found that I would be sitting in a corner of Freedom Hall, in row X, two rows away from the ceiling. But that’s how it goes at the University of Louisville.
Student season tickets are allocated by a lottery; but students can improve their odds for better tickets by attending sporting events. Last year, each student was eligible for a maximum of four points, and one point was awarded for holding season tickets for at least two years. This year, only one point of a possible 31 is given to seniors, with no point given to previous season ticket holders. An individual student’s points are aggregated with 24 others in their groups, and the groups are randomly drawn, based on their odds
When asked about this, Scott Ruhlig, student athletic director, explained that since seven of the possible 31 points will come from basketball games, students with current tickets are at an inherent advantage.
A big part of the problem is that there are currently some really horrible seats in the student section. The student section has been neglected at U of L, and the environment of Freedom Hall suffers as a result. It seems like every other college in America can fit the students together, but that has proved too elusive for U of L. Instead, the student section is dispersed throughout, sometimes to the point that it is impossible to tell where the students actually sit.
There is hope for next year. Charlie Strong, the new head football coach, wants students closer to the action at football games, and the 3-D renderings of the new basketball arena show one cohesive student section.
Ruhlig said that individuals who don’t choose to join a group of 25 can sit in a section specifically dedicated for individuals. And the most spirited individuals—those who obtain the most points out of 31—will sit with the most spirited groups. That works for the individuals, but the spirited couples are still out of luck.
The student section needs to become simpler, not more complex. A first-come-first-serve basis would be simple. This would ensure that the most enthusiastic students would sit in the front, and those who show up 15 minutes after tipoff would sit in, well, row X. This seating would accommodate individuals, couples and large groups. It would also push the empty seats to the back, rather than forcing students to sit behind rows of empty seats because they got unlucky with the random drawing. If the University of Kentucky can have a spirited student section, close to the court and done on a first-come-first-serve basis, why can’t we?
This model does have its problems, such as encouraging students to skip class. If the athletic department didn’t want to go this route, it should ensure that future seniors who have had tickets every year should have the best seats available. Many such students have never had a good view, while underclassmen are sitting in good seats because of pure luck, or because they happened to be lumped in with other people who attended a lot of games and earned a lot of points.
Michael is a senior political science major. E-mail him at editor@louisvillecardinal.com
