The Athletic Department currently is promoting a new online ticketing system for the upcoming basketball season that will allow students to know before they get to University Hall that they will have a seat at the game. Officials say they hope the new policy will encourage team loyalty and game attendance.
But the new ticketing system is not the same arrangement that Student Council voted to support last year, Council members said.
"We simply haven't seen all the pieces come together in the way we thought they would," Council President Noah Sullivan said.
Council specifically argued against the addition of entry time to tickets during discussions last year, because the measure does not allow students to camp out before big games, Council Athletic Affairs Chair Graham Tucker said.
The camping tradition "creates the atmosphere" of a Division I game, Tucker said.
The Athletic Department said establishing a system of admitting students to games any time beforehand and giving fans that attended regularly better seating will encourage loyalty.
In the past, even some high-profile games did not sell out because students were intimidated by diehard fans camping out for the best seats, Athletic Department Director Hunter Yurachek said. Students believed there was a chance that they wouldn't get in, so they would not attend at all.
Council members said they were upset they were not consulted about the addition of the entry time.
"The problem was that the changes were made without Student Council's knowledge or consent," Tucker said.
Tucker added that he is negotiating with the Athletic Department an agreement that would restore the policy to that which Council originally agreed.
Council member Tom Gibson, who served on the original committee to create the policy, called the change a "blatant disrespect of student self-governance" by the Athletic Department.
Council members also expressed concern that upperclassmen do not receive preference and that the new measure did not receive the publicity Council said was agreed upon.
The shift in Athletic Department directors from Andrew Rader to Yurachek crossed some wires, Tucker said.
The department "is cooperating now, but we'll have to wait a week and see if they really are doing what they say they will," Tucker added.
Tucker said the Web site where students now will register for tickets is "very well put together" and "a pretty good system."
Yurachek said he plans to listen to Council's concerns and that he considers the policy a work in progress.
"This will be constantly reviewed until we get it down," he said.
Council hopes to see changes that include a more effective advertising campaign that will encourage students to take advantage of the new system, Tucker said.
Yurachek said the Athletic Department plans to follow up a 30-second Hoovision ad presented to first years with full-page newspaper advertisements and possibly a blanket e-mail to all students.
"We want 2,700 students at every game," Yurachek said, "This is not for the athletic department but for the students."
Yurachek will address student concerns during the community concerns portion of tomorrow's Council meeting.
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