Link: FINALLY - Something appears ready to happen with student seating

[kamoose170]

Those of you that were recent students or current students might be able to recall that in 2010 I believe it was, the university placed some restrictions on what students could do with their tickets related to selling them. I was in my last semester of undergrad that fall, and if I recall we weren't allowed to sale more than 2 of our game tickets and we were expected to donate our tickets rather than sale them. If we sold our tickets more than twice we wouldn't be eligible for tickets the following year. I'm kind of cloudy on the actual details, but I do remember there being A LOT of confusion amongst the student body. Essentially the idea was even if we donated our tickets, we were told the University was monitoring how many of our tickets we actually used and therefore if we donated too many this could also impact our tickets for the next season (this may or may not have been the case). This being my last semester of undergrad and being scheduled to start Grad school at UA in January of 2011, I didn't want my tickets for the next season impacted by me not going to the games with "lesser" skilled opponents so I essentially felt forced to go to games against SJ state, Duke, and GA state. What are the current restrictions or expectations placed on students related to selling their tickets? Maybe if students could sale tickets to games against significantly "weaker" opponents more seats would stay filled. IMO, from my time at UA there were A LOT of underclassmen that would pay for tickets to any game, and there are non-students and alumni out there that would be willing to pay upgrade fees just to come to see bama play and experience game day against any opponent.

 

[TheAccountant]

After all disdain written on here about the Greeks (some of it deserved, most of it misplaced), I thought it important to point out some of the good they are capable of, things that no other student organization on campus could rival.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20111024/NEWS/111029886?p=1&tc=pg

UA Greek Relief, a student-led initiative that has distributed more than 52,000 meals to victims and volunteers after the devastating tornadoes of April 27, has launched a fundraising campaign that is continuing during the football season.
....
While the food operation ended after 10 days, fundraising has remained strong. UA Greek Relief has raised more than $220,000 since May, and the fundraising is gaining momentum.

Post-game visit recap from a Colorado State fan that was reposted after the game:

Friday:
Got up early and took a jog around campus. Passed the athletic dorms and saw
some Bama football players and they gave me a friendly "Roll Tide".

Cleaned up, got my son and went back to campus. We stopped in front of Bryant
Denny Stadium to get some pics. The outside of the place is amazing. Nice statues
of coaches and championship plaques. We were by the street and some frat guys
across the street started yelling at us from the huge DKE house. I couldn't tell what
they were saying so we walked closer. Two frat guys walked out and invited us to
lunch. I couldn't believe it. They led us in and we sat with them and had a great
lunch. After the guys showed my son around and invited us back for their pregame
tailgate. Again blown away by the hospitality by the students.

To specifically address RGWs "dress" comments, more from the CSU fan:

...
The house is huge and looks like
something out of Gone with the Wind. Felt welcomed even with our CSU gear. I'd
heard people dress up so I wore khakis and a polo glad I did b/c people were
dressed up. I've never seen anything like it. Every girl was stunning with her
sundress or skirt and jersey. The guys all had polos or button downs. And it wasn't
just this frat. It was all of the students. Even the parents were dressed up. It was
pretty cool to see.
...

 

[bogeypro]

nevermind...

 

[DC Tide]

This may have nothing to do with anything but: any organization that remained racially segregated for over 40 years since the university was integrated does not deserve special seating arrangements for University of Alabama football games.

Just my opinion.

 

[JIB]

We don't need to get into a debate about the frat system (saying Greek is misleading as I imagine most frat members don't know Ovid from Homer).

However, there's no legit reason for the fraternities to get preferential treatment in seating. They're not special.

 

[rgw]

They have the highest GPA though. They probably have forgotten more about Homer than we've ever known. One of them owns the Simpson Blu-Ray box set.

 

[RollinTider1335]

They have the most collective SGA involvement, highest GPA's, and most community service hours at the University. And any student organization can receive block seating. Not just the "chump undergraduates in blazers and sundresses".

Let's face it, the pledges are the ones Greeks are MAKING perform the "community service" as part of the penance to be a part of the frat. These frats are not just going out of their way got the betterment of the university. The SGA involvement is nothing more than the Greeks swinging votes. GPAs well that's pretty obvious (old tests) and collusion.

Not hating...it just is what it always has been.

 

[TheAccountant]

GPAs well that's pretty obvious (old tests) and collusion.

What was your major in college?

I obviously picked the wrong one if there's one where you can manage a 3.5+ GPA in 300 & 400 level classes simply by using "old tests" and collusion.

 

[b2v4ua]

In reference to what "The Accountant" wrote about the Greek Org. I applaud what they have done and are doing, however one has nothing to do with the other. I fully agree with CNS.

 

[graydogg85]

The Greeks that have posted defensive remarks in this thread need to bear this in mind: a lot of the vitriol you are seeing spewed in your direction stems from the overwhelming perception of your fraternities and sororities as racist, elitist, alcoholic-laden social clubs masquerading as legitimate academic and/or civic student organizations. Deserved or not, that's the general perception amongst the majority of the non-Greek student body (or at least it was during my time at the University).

 

[cuda.1973]

Gee, I thought they were just a bunch of conformist robots, who liked being told who they could date. Thanks for enlightening us.

 

[bamabelle1991]

Let's face it, the pledges are the ones Greeks are MAKING perform the "community service" as part of the penance to be a part of the frat. These frats are not just going out of their way got the betterment of the university. The SGA involvement is nothing more than the Greeks swinging votes. GPAs well that's pretty obvious (old tests) and collusion.

Not hating...it just is what it always has been.

I am a sorority chapter advisor and from my experience this is absolutely false--even with fraternities.

In reference to what "The Accountant" wrote about the Greek Org. I applaud what they have done and are doing, however one has nothing to do with the other. I fully agree with CNS.

Even as a defender of Greeks, I agree that the good things Greeks do have nothing to do with stadium seating. These things do help with the override the generalizations that are being beaten like a dead horse in this thread.

The Greeks that have posted defensive remarks in this thread need to bear this in mind: a lot of the vitriol you are seeing spewed in your direction stems from the overwhelming perception of your fraternities and sororities as racist, elitist, alcoholic-laden social clubs masquerading as legitimate academic and/or civic student organizations. Deserved or not, that's the general perception amongst the majority of the non-Greek student body (or at least it was during my time at the University).

Agree and I will even admit that most of the time it is deserved. Sad, but true because these organizations were not founded to be that way. I know mine wasn't.

 

[UA All the Way]

Today's students must be terribly spoiled. They were in kindergarten the last time Alabama played a game at Legion Field, so they truly have no idea how good they have it.

Not quite true. Last game played in Legion Field was 2003 (I think). So 10 years ago. Let's say a student is 18 that would have made them 8, not kindergarten age.

 

[cbi1972]

Not quite true. Last game played in Legion Field was 2003 (I think). So 10 years ago. Let's say a student is 18 that would have made them 8, not kindergarten age.

Jai Miller was 18

 

[RammerJammer14]

TAMU has a similar system. For some games (UA this year), they slap on a prohibition against selling their student tickets, or even advertising them. If they do, they lose their tickets for the rest of the year. One girl this year advertised hers, yanked them without selling them and then griped to holy hell about losing the rest of her tickets. They have a similar data base to make that possible...

To me that is absurd. Can't make a big game, try to give it to someone else, and you lose your tickets for the rest of the year? That really makes students feel welcome. The problem is overregulation of student tickets. Trying to force students to the game is the wrong way to go about it, imo. I get what they are trying to do-get rid of fair-weather fans and students who buy tickets only to sell them, but you are cutting out a wide swath of students to get those few dishonest ones. Students are fans too, not property of the athletic department.

The way the Greeks dress is their own business but there is no denying there is a perceptible rift between the average student and the Greeks when they're blocked off in a collection business casual wear while the others are in blue jeans, a crimson t-shirt or even in full body paint.

I think the so-called Greek relations would improve immensely if they'd just fall in with the rest of the student body. Stop acting like Ole Miss fans. They act like it is a cocktail party because their team gives them nothing better to care about on Saturdays. We're Alabama, just dress like a normal fan going to a game.

I've always thought there was a kind of southern pride in dressing up for games because it shows we take football more seriously than the rest of the country. I don't know why you can only be a true fan if you wear "jeans and a t-shirt" like some Michigan or Oregon fan. Personally I will wear a t-shirt, polo, button down, or even paint up. Depends on what I feel like. Can't say I have ever once felt some huge rift in the student body-that stuff is largely manufactured. And no I am not "greek".

The Greeks that have posted defensive remarks in this thread need to bear this in mind: a lot of the vitriol you are seeing spewed in your direction stems from the overwhelming perception of your fraternities and sororities as racist, elitist, alcoholic-laden social clubs masquerading as legitimate academic and/or civic student organizations. Deserved or not, that's the general perception amongst the majority of the non-Greek student body (or at least it was during my time at the University).

Again, not sure why you have to be Greek to defend the student section. The overall mood of this thread is:

The upper deck problem has largely been taken care of by making those freshman tickets. I have never seen it so full. Eliminating block seating may or may not help-students are still going to sit where they have always sat. I like my 15yd line seats better than the endzone anyways. Student tickets are overly regulated. If I can't give a ticket to a friend like any other fan at the game, something is wrong. I just think it is ridiculous to jump all over the students when I look up in the decks every game and see missing seats with red backs and people streaming down the isles midway through the 3rd quarter because we are up 38-0 on Arkansas. But then again, they are wearing t-shirts and jeans.

 

[RollinTider1335]

I am a sorority chapter advisor and from my experience this is absolutely false--even with fraternities.

Even as a defender of Greeks, I agree that the good things Greeks do have nothing to do with stadium seating. These things do help with the override the generalizations that are being beaten like a dead horse in this thread.

Agree and I will even admit that most of the time it is deserved. Sad, but true because these organizations were not founded to be that way. I know mine wasn't.

I am not going to argue back and forth but I have seen it first hand. I also realize that taking one assumption and extrapolating over the population can result in skewed results. Somewhere in the middle we are both accurate.

Is what it is.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

TAMU has a similar system. For some games (UA this year), they slap on a prohibition against selling their student tickets, or even advertising them. If they do, they lose their tickets for the rest of the year. One girl this year advertised hers, yanked them without selling them and then griped to holy hell about losing the rest of her tickets. They have a similar data base to make that possible...

To me that is absurd. Can't make a big game, try to give it to someone else, and you lose your tickets for the rest of the year? That really makes students feel welcome. The problem is overregulation of student tickets. Trying to force students to the game is the wrong way to go about it, imo. I get what they are trying to do-get rid of fair-weather fans and students who buy tickets only to sell them, but you are cutting out a wide swath of students to get those few dishonest ones. Students are fans too, not property of the athletic department.

Did you even read what I wrote? I said nothing about "giving." They're just trying to prevent students from profiting off their tickets...

 

[mittman]

While it was great to see the full sections and support this week, I am not ready to lay that on the block seating change, or say "See it was the Greeks all along." Lets give it a few games and see if we are back to the blocking off of seats by force. Even if that does not reappear, I think the majority of what happened was a reaction to the comments more than the block change, but we will see.

 

[OldNo7]

Those of you that were recent students or current students might be able to recall that in 2010 I believe it was, the university placed some restrictions on what students could do with their tickets related to selling them.

That season, I think they instituted the points system. If you upgraded your student ticket to a student guest ticket, you got docked a point. After 3 points, you lost the right to purchase a student package for the following season. So basically, you could upgrade 3 tickets before you couldn't get tickets next year. After that, you could still transfer as many tickets as you wanted to another student or donate them to the general student pool without a penalty. If you transferred/donated your ticket after 5PM the day before the game, you got docked half a point.

My boyfriend graduated that spring, so I had to get pretty creative to find him tickets and still keep myself eligible for tickets in grad school the following year. I found people on Facebook selling tickets for the first three games and met them at Coleman, paid for them to upgrade their ticket, and then bought the actual ticket from them. For the next three games, I had to upgrade my own ticket and then meet someone somewhere on campus to have them transfer their ticket to my account. For the last game, I had to get the seller to transfer her ticket to my current roommate's account (she was a freshman and didn't have tickets), then my current roommate and I went to Coleman and got it upgraded. It was totally worth the trouble, but it was a real pain.

 

[RammerJammer14]

TAMU has a similar system. For some games (UA this year), they slap on a prohibition against selling their student tickets, or even advertising them. If they do, they lose their tickets for the rest of the year. One girl this year advertised hers, yanked them without selling them and then griped to holy hell about losing the rest of her tickets. They have a similar data base to make that possible...



Did you even read what I wrote? I said nothing about "giving." They're just trying to prevent students from profiting off their tickets...

Yes I did read what you wrote, and I think it is absurd to seize tickets because a student sold one or even thought about selling it. I go to every game I possibly can, but sometimes I just can't make it due to prior commitments. So if I try to sell it to someone else, like any other fan with a ticket, I forfeit the rest of my season? The AD is trying to control the student body because they can. You could never get away with being so restrictive to the alumni base. I wrote "give" because the University of Alabama is moving in the direction of "you gave one ticket away-you forfeit all tickets".