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[Noah.Dreams]

I really can't believe Hamilton said this....

Hamilton explains reasons for charging students for football tickets

By Drew Edwards
Originally published 12:04 p.m., April 11, 2008

In a continuing effort to offset a projected athletic budget shortfall of more than $3 million next year, the University of Tennessee will begin this season charging students for football tickets.

Students will pay $90 for a season ticket, or $15 per game if purchased on a game-by-game basis. Previously, students could obtain tickets for free with a valid student ID.

All full-time students pay a mandatory $250 program-and-services fee, which helps fund several facilities and programs, such as the University Center, Student Health Services and the Student Government Association. It will remain in effect.

The fee will continue to allow students free admission to all UT sporting events except football.

UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said several options were discussed, including asking for an increase in the amount the university receives from student fees. Ultimately, though, the decision to charge students attending football games made the most sense, he said.

“The reason we didn’t (raise fees), frankly, is that a student fee affects every student on campus,” Hamilton said. “By actually charging for the football tickets, it’s a user-specific amount. Somebody can choose whether to purchase tickets or not. We hope that students will come and be a part of it and that they’ll buy all the tickets they have available to them.”

SGA President John Rader said students expressed outrage over the decision.

“We’re simply baffled that there can be that large of an increase in such a short amount of time,” he said. “It’s lunacy to me. It just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever to make such a dramatic decision without consulting the people who are directly affected.”

Still, charging students for football tickets is a common practice in the Southeastern Conference. Of the 12 SEC schools, only South Carolina and Vanderbilt admit students for free.

Tennessee’s men’s athletic department receives no money from student fees, and $1 million from the student program-and-services fee goes to help fund the women’s athletic department.

According to UT figures, Auburn’s athletic department receives about $4.9 million in student fees. Florida gets about $2.5 million in student fees, and Georgia’s athletic association received $3.7 million in athletic fees last year. Those three schools have one athletic department for both men’s and women’s programs.

Charging students for football tickets is “a road we’re not paving, compared to our peers,” Hamilton said. “It’s a road we’re following. We’ve tried to avoid it as long as we can.”

The increased revenue, which also is to include a $19 jump in non-student season-ticket prices and a 30 percent reduction in discounts for faculty and staff, announced March 31, will go toward stemming a projected $3.15 million shortfall in the athletic department’s operating budget for 2009.

That includes costs such as tuition for student-athlete scholarships and travel for both men’s and women’s athletic teams. It will also help with non-operational costs, mainly projected pay raises for men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl, football coach Phillip Fulmer and their staffs.

The budget shortfall, however, does not include any money for capital projects such as the continuing renovation of Neyland Stadium, which are financed through earmarked donations and do not come from the operating budget.

Hamilton said that in the coming months, students will determine how to distribute their 13,500-ticket allotment, which will not change in 2008.

“As a student leader, I’m not against students paying a nominal fee to attend athletic events,” Rader said. “But this isn’t a reasonable request, in my opinion.”

Rader added that he expects fewer students to attend games this season as a result of the increase.

“I think you’re creating animosity among the group of fans,” Rader said, “and the largest supporters of our football team.”

Drew Edwards may be reached at 865-342-6274.
E.W. Scripps Co.

[BamaDude06]

How does a school the size of UT have a shortfall that big? I would think it means someone didn't do what they were supposed to and they should probably lose their job.

[fernandomike]

BamaDude06 said:

How does a school the size of UT have a shortfall that big? I would think it means someone didn't do what they were supposed to and they should probably lose their job.

I think the huge renovations planned for Neyland may be the cause. They are supposed to brick it in and that has got to cost a ton of money.

[HobnailedBoots]

Honestly, how are you going to get upset over this? All the rest of us in the SEC pay for our tickets... although its not $90.... season ticket package at UGA costs $8 per ticket, so from $40 to $56 depending on the number of home games.

[GAMECOCK_FAN]

D^3 said:

Honestly, how are you going to get upset over this? All the rest of us in the SEC pay for our tickets... although its not $90.... season ticket package at UGA costs $8 per ticket, so from $40 to $56 depending on the number of home games.

Alabama charges students for tickets as well......my son is at Alabama and the ticket price is $5.00 for a ticket ($35 for 7 games this year), plus an admin/processing fee of something like $8. Not a bad price to see a game. He'll be purchasing his tickets next week.

When I was at SC (which was 25 years ago), our tickets were considered paid for as part of our tuition. We just had to stand in line the week before the game to get them. I'm not sure how it's handled now at SC.

EDIT: Just read more of the above article and it states that in the SEC only SC and Vanderbilt admit students for free.

[Williams-Brice]

At USC, undergrads have a student activities fee built into the tuition, and all you have to do to get into most sporting events is show your student ID. To get a football ticket or a ticket to a baseball game against the team from the Upstate, you get your ID scanned at the Russell House. So it's basically the same thing as when you were there, although I'm sure the activities fee has gone up.

For grad students, you have the option to pay the activities fee. Those who pay the fee can basically do anything the undergrads can with the exception of getting a football ticket or a baseball ticket against those faggots up north.

[rrrrroberto]

GAMECOCK_FAN said:

Just read more of the above article and it states that in the SEC only SC and Vanderbilt admit students for free.

Doesn't Vandy admit everybody for free?

[the Paradox]

fernandomike said:

I think the huge renovations planned for Neyland may be the cause. They are supposed to brick it in and that has got to cost a ton of money.

The budget shortfall, however, does not include any money for capital projects such as the continuing renovation of Neyland Stadium, which are financed through earmarked donations and do not come from the operating budget.


RTR

[geechee]

Williams-Brice said:

At USC, undergrads have a student activities fee built into the tuition, and all you have to do to get into most sporting events is show your student ID. To get a football ticket or a ticket to a baseball game against the team from the Upstate, you get your ID scanned at the Russell House. So it's basically the same thing as when you were there, although I'm sure the activities fee has gone up.

For grad students, you have the option to pay the activities fee. Those who pay the fee can basically do anything the undergrads can with the exception of getting a football ticket or a baseball ticket against those faggots up north.

Now that is a decent policy. Charging students $90 is horsesh*t. The freakin students should riot like they do in France:laugh:

[the Paradox]

geechee said:

Now that is a decent policy. Charging students $90 is horsesh*t. The freakin students should riot like they do in France:laugh:

Only the liberal students would riot.


RTR

[Tennessee Ted]

If they are charging the students money for the tickets they should allow them to sell them as well. When I went to school you had to have a student ID to get into the stadium with a student ticket, so it was difficult to sell the tickets unless you sold it to someone you could trust to lend your ID to. I think they should remove this restriction and allow the students to sell the tickets. They could sell one ticket to an old, drunk, fool like Paradox, Nando, or myself and cover the cost of the tickets for the whole season.

[shanksta13]

If it makes you feel any better, we pay $80 for season tickets, or $10 a game plus a $10 processing fee. It's definitely worth every penny of it, so the students should just quit b*tchin and pony up.