UW-Madison's Athletic Department announced Monday several changes to the allocation process for student season football tickets, as well as new procedures to be implemented at the games during the 2008 season.
According to Vince Sweeney, senior associate athletic director for external relations, football season tickets will move to a weighted lottery system for all students instead of only freshmen.
Interested students can apply for the lottery from June 15 to June 30 online at uwbadgers.com. The athletic department will look at applicants' class standings as of June 1, and each applicant will receive a number of chances corresponding to their standing. Graduate students and seniors will get four, while incoming freshmen will get one.
The lottery will be held the first week of July, Sweeney said, and students will be notified by e-mail July 7.
According to uwbadgers.com, each undergraduate class is guaranteed 2,000 lottery winners, with 500 for graduate students.
Sweeney said changes came as a result of feedback from a focus group of randomly selected students and from an online survey e-mailed to students.
The survey said that people are worried about the decline in time to get tickets,"" said Logan Hulick, a student representative on the UW Athletic Board. He said the sellout time went from three weeks four years ago to two and a half days last year.
UW-Madison junior C.J. Smith said he was angered by the change because of the uncertainty of whether he would receive tickets.
""I'm going to be a little angry if some little freshman gets tickets and I have been going here for four years and I don't get them,"" he said.
Nicole LeBelle, a UW-Madison senior, said waiting until July to know if she got tickets is problematic.
""I'm going to have an internship this summer, I'm not going be checking my WiscMail all the time,"" she said, adding that it's easier to remember to purchase tickets during the spring semester when people are talking about it.
Students who win tickets will now have to pick them up at the Athletic Ticket Office beginning Aug. 18 instead of receiving them in the mail, Sweeney said.
Seats will no longer be individually assigned, but will move to section seating. Students will receive color-coded wristbands assigning them to sit in the lower or upper half of a section.
""[Students] thought it was useless to have individual seats at the football game when no one sits in their seats anyway,"" Hulick said.
LeBelle disagreed, saying she thought it would turn into ""a mad stampede for the front row.""
Another difference will be the elimination of Section P as an upperclassmen section. Section P will instead be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, Sweeney said, which rewards people who get to the game on time.
According to UW Police Lt. Bill Larson, the well-being of patrons is the main concern for the changes.
""The bottom line is just safety for all of the people that are there at the football game and that they have a fun experience while they're watching it.
