Monday, August 20, 2007
Cheering on Jayhawk basketball in person soon might be just a fond memory for students after they graduate, when time is no longer the currency used to acquire premium seats.
The relationship between the Select-a-Seat program and the Williams Educational Fund has created a sort of bidding war between fans for the best seats in Allen Fieldhouse.
Critics say that the new system has forced some longtime season ticket holders from their seats because they cannot donate enough money to the Williams Educational Fund.
Joe and Pat Hirt, of Lake Quivira, have only nine points in the current system. They came to Lawrence on Thursday to select their seats as part of the second-to-last group. The Hirts said that they have problems with a ticket system where cash can outweigh loyalty.
Pat and Joe Hirt, Lake Quivera, look over their men’s basketball season ticket seats with Kim Miller, KU ticket office manager, after taking part in the draft for season ticket seating in Allen Fieldhouse Thursday evening. The Hirts said they were satisfied with their seats. "We're just glad we're in the building," Pat Hirt said.
“My son-in-law’s aunt had been a season ticket holder for 30 years, and she got squeezed out by the new system,” Joe Hirt said. “I know she wasn’t happy. If you’ve been here, to have someone else come in and just essentially buy your tickets, I don’t think that is right. I think it’s hard to push people out who have supported this University for years, and I think that is the wrong image to covey as a University, that the rich get their choice of tickets.”
The University’s system offers points for longtime season ticket holders in football and basketball, and for those who have donated to the Williams Fund in past years. Detractors think that these bonus points pale in comparison to the points fans can earn through large cash donations. Fans receive one point for every $100 they donate.
Jim Marchiony, associate athletics director, said that other athletic departments around the country implement a similar system.
“We needed to raise money,” Marchiony said. “Our system was designed that way so that Kansas athletics didn’t put a particular price on a seat. It is strictly based on how much people want to give, and it is an absolutely fair process.”
Raising money is certainly no longer a problem for the Athletics Department. Prior to 2004, when the points system went into effect, the Williams Fund grossed about $5 million each year. With the incentive for season ticket holders to accrue points, that number has increased to more than $11 million annually.
Before 2004, season ticket holders were given the same seats if they renewed their tickets from the previous year.
“I think they had a great deal for 20 or 30 years,” Marchiony said of former season ticket holders. “While we certainly appreciate that loyalty, there are fans that have been just as loyal who have not had access to those seats for 20 or 30 years but have been willing to donate money. Those people are just as loyal and passionate about Kansas athletics as the folks that had those seats for 20 or 30 years.”
The Hirts began purchasing season tickets last year so that they could spend time with their daughter, Rock Chalk dancer Annie Hirt. They said that they don’t mind the system in their specific situation and that they understand why, as new season ticket holders, they have more limited seat options than longtime ticket holders.
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The following corrections should be made to Monday's Kansan.
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Comments
Money outweighs loyalty in ticket system
My uncle ran into a similar problem several years ago after the policy went into effect. He's now in one of the last groups to select tickets. A KU Alum and season-ticket holder since 1978... he got screwed.
Damn him for wanting to spend most of his money on supporting his family.
Money outweighs loyalty in ticket system
I am not a season ticket holder as I live away from Lawrence, but I am an avid and loyal supporter and travel there once each year to see a game. If I moved close to KU I would want a method available to me to be able to get a season ticket. I would consider myself just as worthy as someone who had been lucky enough to see most games every year.
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