Last Friday, members of the Student Wolfpack Club began gathering inside Reynolds Coliseum at 5:45 a.m. for the first football ticket distribution of the season. I, for one, as a junior and three-year club member, was more than ready to get my hands on a ticket for next week’s matchup against the Gamecocks. However, many members, myself included, were turned away with nothing but two wasted hours of quality sleep time.
CliffsNotes version of the Student Wolfpack Club ticketing process: students pay $30 for membership and attend non-revenue athletic events to earn ‘minutes.’ At ticket distribution, students are lined up based on the number of minutes amassed. Members get slightly better seats at football and basketball games than students who are not members.
Last year, this process was practically painless. Students had to be ‘swiped-in’ to distribution by 6 a.m. This year, that time was moved forward to 6:30 a.m. Awful idea – especially for the first distribution, which, granted, is always the most chaotic. By the second or third distribution, the board always has things running efficiently with few delays, and members are out with tickets in hand in around 45-50 minutes. Friday, names weren’t called until after 7 a.m. Many students, myself included, had to leave our IDs with friends so we could be on time for 8 a.m. classes.
The distribution occurred two weeks prior to game day, rather than the traditional one week, resulting in many ties in minutes, since there were no “minute events” until this week. Currently, if a certain number of students are tied, it doesn’t matter if one showed up 45 minutes earlier than the other. All that matters is that you are in the top half of the alphabet, because there was a line of students that took up a third of the track in Reynolds that didn’t receive a ticket.
Members received an e-mail this week, apologizing for the extensive delay in the ticketing process. According to the e-mail, a large number of students (ones whom I would assume are new to this whole thing) showed up without ID cards. Board members were left to manually enter ID numbers into the system.
Sure, members aren’t guaranteed tickets, but they also shouldn’t be screwed out of getting one because other students were forgetful — or whatever the reason may be.
There are two ways to solve this problem, and it’s going to take effort from both students and the board. Students, if you want your ticket badly enough, don’t inconvenience everyone else by leaving yours in your room, car or at a party — wherever you decide to start your weekend on Thursday night.
Fair is only fair, and if members show up without an ID in the future, I say too bad. Ticketing policies are available online and were covered in the meeting the night prior to distribution. Many other students have suggested that these students be placed in the “late swipe-in” line with those who aren’t at Reynolds by 6:30 a.m. I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to that. And to reward those who swipe in early, use those times to determine tie-breakers.
In the meantime, if you’re a member without a ticket, Student Government’s new ticketing incentives, which include bonus points for early arrival to games and chances to earn free t-shirts, hats and coolers (all for free), are pretty appealing.
However, I can only harp on this for so long, as I have had many great experiences with the Student Wolfpack Club. I have always gotten a ticket at distribution, and I’ve certainly never had to leave a distribution early. The spirit that the club promotes is nothing less than great for the University and our teams on the field and the court. But, on behalf of every other frustrated club member, please get it together. And students, for God’s sake, bring your ID cards to Friday’s distribution.
