Editor:

There has been some backlash against the new policy requiring football tickets to be acquired beforehand, including in The Chrony (“U should not be kept out of football games,” Oct. 13).

All I have to say is-get used to it and be glad that students still get in free. At many schools with highly successful football programs (or formerly successful, in the case of the school down south), students have to pay for their tickets (they pay $85 for a season pass down south, or $14-20 per game).

If Urban Meyer sticks around and the Utes keep finding success, you can expect the same to happen around here. Currently, members of the MUSS pay for reserved premium seats. Soon you’ll have to pay to get any seat. As demand increases and supply stays the same, the price that people are willing to pay will increase. For now, it’s the inconvenience of getting your tickets ahead of time, but it will surely come at a monetary cost before too long.

Two points in your article need to be addressed. First, the student section should be expanded. How big should the student section be? One benefit of the new ticket policy is that it allows for a more accurate head count, which could lead to an educated expansion of the student section.

Second, you made the point that regardless of football’s revenue for the U, students should never be turned away to accommodate visitors. This overly idealistic view ignores the fact that our football must remain a business.

One possible solution (to both the limited supply and diminished revenue) involves the $7 student guest tickets. Each student can purchase three, which keeps three students from getting in free and takes a cut out of ticket sales. Should students be limited to one guest, or none?

We don’t get a great football team and student involvement for nothing. A price must be paid. So enjoy your tickets while they’re still free because it probably won’t last long.

Steven Paradise

Graduate Student,

Electrical Engineering