For those who say the students show up at games... Link to article about attendance

Johnwants#15

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http://cw.ua.edu/2012/11/29/high-tide-low-turnout/




November 29, 2012 | Filed under: Campus,News | Posted by: Marc Torrence
Alabama fans are greeted with a familiar sight as kickoff nears for a football game in Bryant-Denny Stadium. It’s as common as seeing the Million Dollar Band on the field or the pre-game “Tradition” video.
Only this one isn’t so inspiring.
The upper deck student section, where students are sent once the lower bowl has reached capacity, is never filled and has become an eyesore for many fans. It’s a blemish on what some say would otherwise be the most spectacular sight in college football – 101,000-plus fans packed into one stadium to watch a football game.
The student section has never filled up completely, or even come close, according to information received from The University of Alabama under an open-records request.
Alabama’s season opener against San Jose State in 2010 drew the most students since 2008, when the University started using ACT Cards for football tickets and the earliest that data was made available. Of the 17,000 seats given to students, only 13,638 were filled for the game. That means 3,362 tickets went unused, and the section was just over 80 percent capacity.
 

HitMan54

1st Team
Jan 29, 2007
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Only the Government Knows
That's because trust fund babies are too good to sit in the upper deck like us common folk. Not all, just some. From what I understand, it's a first come first seat kinda of thing.

On a positive note, I believe that the students are the loudest and I love it when they set the tone for making noise at the stadium. Also, in their defense....."responsible" students don't have all day to get there 6 hours before kickoff just to get a better seat, watch a three hour game then go back to where they live.

So stick em together in the lower section, everyone wins!
 

crimsonaudio

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Staff member
Sep 9, 2002
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They need to look at the average number of seats that were empty this year and remove them from the student section. It's ridiculous to have unused seats when there are people on the TP waiting list will to pay good money for those seats. Let the students complain about the lack of $10 seats, not the people willing to pay 10x that much for them.

No one is entitled to seating at BDS.
 

RollTide1224

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Feb 18, 2008
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That's because trust fund babies are too good to sit in the upper deck like us common folk. Not all, just some. From what I understand, it's a first come first seat kinda of thing.

On a positive note, I believe that the students are the loudest and I love it when they set the tone for making noise at the stadium. Also, in their defense....."responsible" students don't have all day to get there 6 hours before kickoff just to get a better seat, watch a three hour game then go back to where they live.

So stick em together in the lower section, everyone wins!
I think your perception of responsible students not having time is not the problem. I don't think you have to go 6 hours early to get a seat. I also don't think most students spend that much time studying on Saturday.

The upper deck section is pretty annoying to see I don't really have a solution for it. At South Carolina you request a ticket each week and either get the lower or the upper it is assigned. That might help but kids who get the upper might just say screw it and turn in their tickets. The positive with that system is if they turn it in someone else who wants to go can claim it.
 

Johnnyb

1st Team
Jan 4, 2011
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Huntsville, AL
They should get rid of the ACT card crap and go back to just having regular tickets. That way the students who don't want to go can sell them without the person buying them who's not a student having to shell out $80 extra dollars! Makes it impossible for students who can't go to sell their tickets, because most of the ones bought from students are friends and family that just want to sit with their friend/family that goes there!
 

J4Bama

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Mar 24, 2002
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"Deas said entitlement plays a key role in the lack of enthusiasm he’s seen from students."

"“Students think that just because they get tickets, they don’t have to use them,” he said. “I just don’t understand that when you go to a school with a program like Alabama football – the program is, right now, the best in the country. Yet the only people that seem to be apathetic about it are the people that attend school there.”



THIS!
 

92tide

TideFans Legend
May 9, 2000
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yeah, i dont understand not going to most games as a student. i went to all of them until my sr. year when i had a job that required working saturday nights. and most of the years i was there, we had to trudge to legion field for most of the games.
 

92tide

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"Deas said entitlement plays a key role in the lack of enthusiasm he’s seen from students."

"“Students think that just because they get tickets, they don’t have to use them,” he said. “I just don’t understand that when you go to a school with a program like Alabama football – the program is, right now, the best in the country. Yet the only people that seem to be apathetic about it are the people that attend school there.”



THIS!

well, they're going to be in for a rude awakening when they get out of school and realize how expensive tickets are.
 

TideMom2Boys

Hall of Fame
Nov 17, 2010
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They should have it where 30 mins before the game, the tickets that are not used, can be sold to the public. Then that would take care of the students not caring or who want to show up late. They would show up and late and their tickets wouldn't be valid anymore.
 

bamabelle1991

All-American
Jan 1, 2009
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Take away ALL upper deck seating for students and sell them to the people on the TP waiting list! I may could get that magic email then!!

In the 5 football seasons I was a student at Bama, I NEVER missed a home football game.
 

rgw

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Sep 15, 2003
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I've never missed an Alabama game where I've had a student ticket. I had to bail on the Mississippi State game this season because I did go up to the upperdeck and it just got to darn chilly for me.
 

Jordan54

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Aug 20, 2007
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I would rather the University use the upper deck for alums and fans. I can't understand the attitude of our students at a time when our football program is at an all time high. This article I'm sure concerns all of us on this site.
 

TideEngineer08

TideFans Legend
Jun 9, 2009
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Are we certain that there are 15 or 17 thousand students that actually want to go to the games? I mean, Alabama is a very diverse campus. And although football is huge for the citizens of this state, Alabama pulls in students from all over the world.

Regardless, I agree that the unused tickets need to be sold to the public.
 

rgw

Suspended
Sep 15, 2003
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Yeah, I feel that a lot of the students are either no interested in the game or simply prefer the tailgate atmosphere. I know a few friends who would rather watch it on television and have the leisure to munch on finger foods and a beverage.

On one hand, in the world of donations and booster money...it is forgotten that the game should be about the students on the field and in the stands not the alumni and other supporters. On the other, there are people giving money to the university each year that directly effects the strength of the program and not getting a season ticket package offer all the while seats are going unused.

There are a lot of ways to look at it but ultimately if seats are not being used then a reassessment is needed.
 

saraelizabethua

1st Team
Feb 3, 2008
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Oxford, Mississippi
Take the top half of the upper deck permanently. If the lower half hasn't filled up at kickoff, sell general admission tickets. People/tailgaters/students without season tickets will buy them.

I never missed a minute of a game in Bryant-Denny. Granted, I HAD to be there with the MDB, but I never wanted to leave early because I wanted to play Rammer Jammer, sing the alma mater, and celebrate/commiserate with my friends! I don't understand the lack of enthusiasm when our team is THIS dominant! Get it together!
 

exiledNms

Hall of Fame
Aug 2, 2002
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Some of my best game memories as a student revolve around getting to BDS or Legion Field ~3 hrs early to get a non-reserved seat in the student section. This was especially fun @ the Iron Bowl when the Aub students & us were opposite each in Legion Field. Good times!

I, too, don't have a solution. Oh well...on to ATL to teach the Bulldogs to behave. ;)
 

CrimsonNagus

Hall of Fame
Jun 6, 2007
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Here is another article from that breaks down the numbers by game: http://sports.cw.ua.edu/2012/11/29/full-breakdown-of-alabama-football-student-attendance-numbers/

Since the expansion and the student allotment was increased to 17,000; the average student attendance has been 12,018. I don't want to ever see anyone on this site use the "they cram into the lower bowl" excuse again because it is not true. It may be crowded down there but, they are also not using their tickets. Seems to me the solution is very simple and obvious, reduce the number of student tickets to around 13,500 and sell the rest to people who will actually go to the games.

It's pathetic to see an empty section in the upper deck every single home game, if they will not use them then they don't deserve them. When was the last time you saw entire sections empty at the start of a Michigan game, ND game or an OSU game? It's sad, we have the best team in the country and can't fill the stadium. I'm bitter because tickets are hard to come by, especially at face value and while freeing up some student tickets will not drastically change that, it would allow a few more fans the opportunity. It just sucks for them to advertise the game as a sell out (which I know it technically is) and then you see on TV an entire section empty, that's when I yell at the TV that I'd love to sit up there!

Use them or lose them is what I say and it is obvious that the students should lose some of theirs.
 
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