Question: What should be done to fill the student section?

[JeffAtlanta]

Block seating for fraternities is a problem at most schools. I grew up an Alabama fan, but graduated from Georgia Tech. I stopped going to Tech games as a student because even if I stood in line for hours, the fraternities got all of the good seats and the other students were exiled to the worst seats in the stadium - completely disconnected from the gameday experience.

That's why I and a significant number of students never formed any type of emotional attachment to the football program. It's funny how the tech message boards always wonder why the alumni find other things to do rather than going to a Tech game.

 

[mittman]

If they are going to have block seating, and a separate upper deck section, just move the block seating to the upper deck.

 

[bama70]

Currently over 50% of the incoming freshmen are coming from our of state. Football is not as popular in a lot of these areas as football is in the State of Alabama. Attendance at high school football games has been declining in some parts of our state. Together, I don't feel we have a student body that has the football background of classes from prior decades. This coupled with the dominance of our football program causes apathy by a lot of students.

Student tickets are relative cheap for current students. There is not a big financial loss if a student does not use his ticket or find someone else to purchase the ticket. Maybe students should be allowed to convert their student to a general admission ticket for the upper sections at no extra cost. Students could then sell these tickets to help cover the ever increasing cost
of college.

 

[StatHaldol]

This has always been a problem as long as I can remember, but it is getting worse. Even coach Saban commented on the fan base not getting into the game and doing their part. There are two Tide Pride seats next to mine that only get used at the big games

I'm sensing that our fans are getting a sense of entitlement. The majority of the stadium doesn't get loud until the other team crosses into Bama territory. I do my part the entire game no matter who Bama is playing, but i'm realizing that we will never have a roudy stadium like LSU or Florida.

It was a problem when I was a student back in the 70's (stone age). I remember several articles about it in the Crimson White.

 

[JohnnyCache]

The only time I ever sat in one of the new upper deck sections I felt like I needed a seat belt. Those seats are damn scary.

 

[rgw]

I left after that drive that ended in a interception in the end zone. It was misting up in the upper deck and the wind was going right to my bones even with a north face jacket on. The incredible swing in temperature from Friday to Saturday made me very poorly acclimated for that kind of cold, damp wind. I hate to leave a game, especially when it is one of the few quality opponents we catch in Bryant-Denny this season, but I'm not coping a case of pneumonia over a 4 score game at halftime.

I didn't even get into the stadium until right before kickoff and I couldn't take the weather. I can't imagine even those in the lower deck who got there 2 hours before the game toughing it through 6 hours of that mess.

 

[TiderInTally]

The ills of block seating have been covered. Beyond that, I really think the solution (if there is one) has to be fair - maybe even generous - to the students.

The harder you make it for students to get into the games, the more painful you make the experience, the more you dampen the enthusiasm of (for better or worse) the loudest and most raucous bunch in the stadium. Face facts: non-student Alabama fans are, as a group, almost as rowdy as the guys and gals down at Shady Pines Rest Home for Wednesday Bingo Night. Unless the other team has 3rd-and-goal. The team needs the students and the noise they make.

Plus, are you TRYING to alienate one of your best sources of future revenue? If you want these kids to love Alabama football enough to cut big fat checks to the Athletic Department for years and years after graduation, the University needs to show them a little love - now. I hate to quote Whitney Houston here, but "I believe the children are our future."

Suggestions:

-Have 2 classes of student tickets: upper deck and lower level (based on attendance, timely attendance, credit-hours earned, etc.).
-Open season on all block seating 30 minutes before kickoff (not sure what the rule is now).
-Close admissions to the lower bowl 1 hour before kickoff (hit up the TSA for some barriers - those guys are the masters of standing in line), and open them up again (i) when the upper deck has filled 80% or (ii) at the start of the 4th quarter, whichever comes first.
-Close the gates between lower level and upper deck until start of the 4th quarter.

 

[JD95]

I left after that drive that ended in a interception in the end zone.

Uh-oh. This is the cue for those who like to rant that anyone who leaves before the clock hits 0:00 isn't a true fan, doesn't deserve to have his/her tickets, yada, yada, yada. I don't agree, but let's just wait for it . . .

 

[crimsonpride61]

Thank You!!!! That is what I have thought since my son has been in school there.
:biga: This directed at SavannahDare's post

 

[BamaDude06]

My ideas:

1.) Get rid of block seating. Not going to happen as long as that falls under the SGA, since we all know who runs the SGA. Why would they give up a system that GREATLY benefits themselves? (They have reserved seats and can show up right before kickoff vs the other students that have to show up 2+ hours early just to TRY and get a good seat. Only the MDB section should be blocked off. All others are first come, first serve.)

2.) Reselling of tickets should not be allowed. This goes for students AND faculty/staff tickets. It's one thing if you can't make the occasional game, but to see the SAME seats in a faculty/staff section on sites like Stub Hub for every game is not right either. Both are getting

3.) All student seats should be lower bowl. If we need to go Tennessee style and "add a seat or two" to every row in the student section then make it happen.

4.) We should do away with student season tickets. Tickets should be available starting Monday morning online and at the Coleman office. If by Thursday morning student tickets remain they go on sale to general public. Couple this practice with the no reselling/transfers of tickets this ensures that only people serious about going to the game can get tickets. You can still have a "donation" option available for emergency cases where a student has bought a ticket early in the week, but something (illness, death in the family, etc.) comes up and suddenly can't make the game so tickets do not go unused.

5.) Priority system needs to be implemented for big games/away games/bowl games/etc. It does NOT need to be based on hours. It should be based on total athletic events students go to. Students that go to as many baseball, volleyball, soccer, softball, etc. events get high priority over the student that only goes to football games.

 

[rolltideallday]

Really? Can we talk about not making students get there at 5 for a game at 7:30? Or about me being there for 2 hours before kickoff and seeing regular ticket holders get there just before the game starts and leaving at halftime? We are the only section that even resembles noise on a regular basis and we at the stadium for hours. At LSU we were in line/stadium for 4 hours before the game. When there is accountability for the fans that don't show up/show up late/leave early, then we can make rules for the students.

 

[Snuffy Smith]

Really? Can we talk about not making students get there at 5 for a game at 7:30? Or about me being there for 2 hours before kickoff and seeing regular ticket holders get there just before the game starts and leaving at halftime? We are the only section that even resembles noise on a regular basis and we at the stadium for hours. At LSU we were in line/stadium for 4 hours before the game. When there is accountability for the fans that don't show up/show up late/leave early, then we can make rules for the students.

I don't see anything wrong with assigned seats - they could be changed game to game and based on lottery. You could also allow blocks of students to buy blocks together. There are ways to do it.


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[uaintn]

How's that?

An empty seat in the stadium that could have been occupied by someone who is willing to pay Tide Pride + Ticket cost = Lost revenue. Sure, I know some of the students are in the lower bowl, on ramps, etc., but not as many as there were empty seats on Saturday night -- no way.

 

[BamaGoose]

Really? Can we talk about not making students get there at 5 for a game at 7:30? Or about me being there for 2 hours before kickoff and seeing regular ticket holders get there just before the game starts and leaving at halftime? We are the only section that even resembles noise on a regular basis and we at the stadium for hours. At LSU we were in line/stadium for 4 hours before the game. When there is accountability for the fans that don't show up/show up late/leave early, then we can make rules for the students.

Most students live in Tuscaloosa and don't have to experience the hassles of I20-59 traffic to Birmingham, especially on a game that ends close to midnight. My most recent trip to Tuscaloosa resulted in getting home at 4am, while most students were either still partying or sleeping. I would give my anything to have the advantages that the students have in attending a game. Remember one day the students will be like the regular fans who make an all day trip to Tuscaloosa and spend more $$ than a student's 10$ trip to Denny's after midnight.

 

[RammerJammer14]

I don't see anything wrong with assigned seats - they could be changed game to game and based on lottery. You could also allow blocks of students to buy blocks together. There are ways to do it.


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Problem being, assigning seats to students just wouldn't work the same as buying seats for tide pride. As a tide pride member you can buy the number of seats you need for your family and then you get to sit together every game. This would not happen with students. How are you supposed to go to a game with friends or with a date if everyone has randomly assigned seats every game? Its just not practical. As has been beaten to death, the problem with the empty upper student seats is that they are in the upper deck and completely separate from the "real" student section. There is no atmosphere up there, you can't hear the band, and you can't see the cheerleaders. All the ticket prices are the same. There is absolutely no reason that students want to sit in the upper deck.


Now, I know it will never happen, but at Tennessee the student section extends from the back of the endzone all the way to the 50yd line, and they have about the same stadium capacity as we do. If they expanded the student section horizontally instead of vertically you would never see huge stretches of shiny benches on your TV screen (minus block seating in the 4th). Regardless, student seating should be confined to the lower bowl. I did like someone else's idea of swiping out of the game before it ends. If you tied that into allocation of block seating, that would probably keep the endzone from emptying after halftime.

 

[OldNo7]

I like the idea of having to swipe out if you leave early. The way it works now, you get penalty points for not donating your ticket by 5PM on gameday or for not using your ticket or for upgrading too many times (usually because you want to sell your $5 ticket for $200). But if you did A or B for a good reason (last minute emergency or something) then you can petition to have the penalty waived. So if you swipe out halfway through the third quarter because (somehow you had cell service and your mom called and told you) your grandmother died, I think you should be able to provide documentation of the situation and get the early swipe out penalty waived. Life happens.

But if you leave halfway through the third quarter because we're up by 60 and you're a fair weather fan, I think your ticket privileges should be revoked. There are other students who will happily take them. And anyway, what's the point of going to the game if you aren't going to stay for the Rammer Jammer???

 

[CrimsonProf]

But if you leave halfway through the third quarter because we're up by 60 and you're a fair weather fan, I think your ticket privileges should be revoked. There are other students who will happily take them. And anyway, what's the point of going to the game if you aren't going to stay for the Rammer Jammer???

You're joking, right?

 

[2003TIDE]

I think you should be able to provide documentation of the situation and get the early swipe out penalty waived. Life happens.

UA should start a death panel for all fans that leave the game early. That will fix the problem.

 

[CrimsonPride]

No block seating! Student section should be entirely in the lower bowl and those upper deck seats should be Tide Pride seats. Easy peasy.

I was thinking this very thing as I was freezing my butt off Saturday night. The upper deck student section never did fill up (70% full at most) and many of the block seating crowd did not return after the half.

 

[Probius]

No block seating! Student section should be entirely in the lower bowl and those upper deck seats should be Tide Pride seats. Easy peasy.

Well said, I never liked the block seating as a student. I don't see why the frats get such preferential treatment. They show up last second, while the other students have to get in the stadium 2 1/2 hours prior to kickoff in order to have a good seat. Then they have the gaw to leave early. If the fratboys want a seat, let them show up early and work for it. And as for the upper deck seats in the student section, if they aren't going to use them, give them to someone else.