It’s Monday at 11:30 a.m. I’ve opened my laptop and joined the online queue for a Florida State University (FSU) football student ticket. I wait until noon rolls around and am put in the queue, watching my marker slowly run across the screen. It finally makes it to the end and the page redirects me to request my ticket. I watch my screen load and… nothing.
This has been the process for so many FSU students requesting a student ticket for home football games this year, and it’s been rough. I’ve been denied a student ticket twice this season, and we’ve only played four home games so far. The first time this happened was for the Virginia Tech game. I assumed that it was simply a high-demand game with it being Family Weekend and our team being a playoff-contending team. So I logged onto SeatGeek and bought a painfully expensive ticket instead. (Well, that’s a lie. My parents bought the ticket for me because they were coming up for the game. Thanks Mom and Dad!)
It wasn’t until a few days later that I learned the truth about student tickets: the system had changed. This season, FSU uses a lottery in cases where requests exceed the number of available tickets. This lottery acts completely at random; it doesn’t matter what time you log into the queue or what your academic class standing is. It automatically decides if you will be given a ticket or not the second you log in.
Unfortunately, FSU shrunk its student section at Doak Campbell Stadium, increasing its sales of general admission tickets. Honestly, I wish we still had more room at the football games.
Another scenario that many students have faced is having their requests rescinded later. This happened to several friends and me for our homecoming game against Duke University. We had successfully requested our tickets, but the next day, were told that our student section was oversold, and we would not be receiving tickets. So I was back on SeatGeek buying another overpriced ticket after that.
Every Monday, I feel like I’m in an alternate Hunger Games, hoping that my name will get picked so I can watch the FSU football team play another amazing game. But with my luck, that doesn’t seem to be happening.
At the same time, I can’t be mad because we are an amazing team with a solid chance at playoffs and a National Championship, so you can have fun watching games from anywhere! Still, I hope FSU fixes its student section ticket policy, because games at Doak are unmatched.
Every Monday, I feel like I’m in an alternate Hunger Games.
Many other football schools charge their students for tickets (I’m not suggesting FSU takes after them), but there’s a much better solution: go back to the policy from last year. Last year’s student ticket policy operated on a first-come, first-served basis and was a much more fair and predictable process. The earlier students logged into the queue, the more likely they were to get a ticket. I loved this system partially because I got a ticket for every game, but also because the queue opened on Sundays, which is much more convenient than in the middle of the day on a Monday.
After talking to friends at other schools with top football programs like Ohio State University and the University of Georgia, I can confirm that there is a smooth process for student tickets that doesn’t make you feel like you’re back in The Eras Tour Ticketmaster battle. FSU needs to figure out that process.
The ticket request period for our game against the University of Miami opens on Nov. 6 at noon. I’m starting my manifesting early because I’m not sure my wallet can handle a $160 ticket, and I want to experience the energy of Doak against our conference rival. Good luck to everyone with the last two student request periods of this season and most importantly, Go Noles!
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