Athletics, SG optimistic about ticketing changes

As the football team prepares for its first home game Saturday against William & Mary, members of Athletics and Student Government are anxious to see how changes to the lottery system and game day procedure will work, according to Associate Athletic Director Dick Christy.

According to Christy, Athletics is confident that the changes proposed by Student Government -- most specifically the addition of the standby line -- will be working well for students wanting to attend the game.

"The standby line is great for students who may have thought they couldn't go to a game," Christy said. "It will be especially good for big games, but this weekend should be good too."

The changes in procedure, approved during the summer by a group of representatives from Student Government, Athletics, University Administration and Campus Police will be put to test for the first time on Saturday.

The standby line will allow students who did not claim tickets during the claiming or on-demand period to still have an opportunity to get into the game by showing up early on Saturday.

"Starting 90 minutes before kickoff students can go into RBC Center lobby and we will have lines set up there," Christy said. "Fifteen minutes after kick off we will see how many student no-shows we have, and then issue a wristband for students in the standby line based on how many empty seats are remaining."

Zach Sipes, a sophomore in nutrition science, said he thinks the idea of having a standby line is good for students, both those who don't have tickets prior to game day and those who do.

"There is the potential of there being problems because of people losing seats but the idea of a standby line is great for people who want to get in the game," he said. "Also, the line will be an incentive for people who do have tickets to get there early."

Christy agreed and said Athletics has attempted to make students aware of the ramifications of claiming a ticket and showing up late to the game.

"Anytime students miss out on the opportunity to attend the game people will be frustrated, but we have tried to make the changes known," he said. "Students should be motivated by the stand by line."

Student Body President Jay Dawkins said he is hopeful that Saturday's game goes smoothly despite the possible impact of Tropical Storm Hanna.

"Everybody I've talked to about the changes has been happy with the way things are going so far," he said. "I'm actually curious to see how things are going to go because it sounds like the tailgate party may turn into a hurricane party. Students will figure out a way to have a good time no matter the situation."

Another big change in procedure, according to Sipes, comes with the addition of the new point system, which gives people better position in the ticket lottery based on the number of games they attend, allowing students to build up points throughout the season.

"The point system is great for people who are actually good fans and go to all the games," Sipes said. "Last year I went to every home game but I didn't get a ticket to the Carolina game and friends of mine who hadn't attended other games did. The new system seems a lot more fair."

Dawkins said he hopes initial confusion or negative feelings about the ticketing changes will subside as the season goes on.

"Obviously there will always be people who are confused at first, but hopefully with time things will be smooth and everyone will be excited about the changes," he said.