“Wish We Could Take Care of Everyone: SDSU Title Game Ticket Distribution Causes Confusion, Criticism – Mitchell Republic

[ad_1]

BROOKINGS Within 72 hours, sheer elation turned to frustration for many South Dakota State football fans.

Last Saturday, Dec. 17, top-seeded SDSU beat Montana State, 39-18, in the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals, clinching their ticket to the FCS title game in Frisco. , in Texas. However, when Jackrabbits fans attempted to secure tickets to make the migration south, they were met with mixed results.

Several factors contributed to making this season’s FCS title game ticket one of the hottest, if not the hottest championship tickets in the history of the subdivision. The game, to be played on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, will pit No. 1 South Dakota State against No. 3 rival North Dakota State, winners of nine championships over the past 11 seasons. It is also SDSU’s second appearance in the title game and the first of a season unhindered by COVID-19 restrictions.

So, naturally, fans everywhere were clamoring for an opportunity to secure a spot at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, which has a listed capacity of 20,500.

Season ticket holders had a first opportunity to claim tickets on Monday and Tuesday, December 19 and 20, with all remaining tickets due to go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, December 21. But at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, the official SDSU Athletics social media accounts sent out an update.

“Due to the high volume of requests for the FCS National Championship game from season ticket holders, no tickets will go on sale tomorrow morning to the general public,” the message read.

As if this news wasn’t disheartening enough for Jackrabbit devotees, it was soon learned that, although approximately 10,000 places were requested by season ticket holders, the university’s allotment only totaled 4. 500, according to SDSU athletic director Justin Sell.

This led to the first point of contention between fans and the box office: wording. In a Dec. 19 post on SDSU Athletics’ social media accounts, he said tickets were available for “purchase” when they weren’t. SDSU was taking requests for tickets, which were then to be distributed at the discretion of the university.

“There was a little confusion between a few words ‘buy’ and ‘ask’, so we need to clean that up,” Sell said in an interview with a Brookings radio host. “From the start, our No. 1 intention was to make sure our season ticket holders had a chance to apply for places in the Championship, and because the demand is so high, you have to have certain parameters. Certainly being a season ticket holder, Jackrabbit Club Member, priority points, all of those things come into play. … That was the intention, that’s what we ended up accomplishing.

While not an entirely unusual way to determine who dibs first on tickets, this process has been unsatisfactory for many, including young alumni and current students.

“They prioritized big donors and season pass holders before their own students,” said Natalie Jane Frazier, a recent SDSU graduate, who expressed her frustration through multiple replies on Twitter. “The students who make the university work should have been the priority.”

“As a die-hard Jackrabbit Athletics fan and student paying thousands of dollars to attend SDSU, it is disappointing to see our school decide that the people who donate are more important than the fans/students who attend every home game/playoffs,” the stream added. SDSU student Kelsey Gustaf at the Twitter conversation.

For comparison, NDSU has allocated 300 tickets from its student stipend at a cost of $90 per ticket and a limit of one ticket per student account. Student tickets went on sale at 9 a.m. Tuesday and sold out in less than an hour.

A South Dakota State cheerleader shouts to the crowd while holding a “Go Jacks!” sign during the South Dakota Showdown football rivalry game played between South Dakota State and the University of South Dakota on Saturday October 8, 2022 at Dykhouse Stadium, Brookings.

Adam Thury/Republic Mitchell

A quick calculation will show that 4,500 places multiplied by two teams equals 9,000 places awarded to schools participating in the championship game. That leaves 11,500 seats for the NCAA to distribute as it sees fit.

As is the case almost every year, these tickets went on sale to the public at the start of the season on September 16, to be exact.

“You can cross the hall and there are still tickets available,” Sell said.

As Sell was keen to point out, NDSU and its fanbase likely had a lot of experience in the process of getting title game tickets. With the Bison now making their 10th FCS Championship appearance since 2011, NDSU fans have become accustomed to gobbling up many of these tickets as soon as they go on sale in the hope or assumption that the Bison will play their way to Frisco.

“We’re not used to it because the year we were successful (in the Championship) was the COVID year and you had reduced attendance (capacity), so we’re learning at the same time,” Sell explained. “And who we play against is important. As it’s NDSU, obviously they’ve been doing it for years. Their people buy (tickets) in August.”

Even though he was a month ahead of his estimate, Sell’s argument is well founded.

Not all of the interactions on Twitter surrounding the ticketing process were outrageous, with Kelcey Sweeney being one of the SDSU fans trying to balance the conversation.

“Guys, the ticket office surely needs to improve their processes, but the bottom line is that there are a lot more people wanting tickets than there are tickets. Period. You’ll see a lot more bison there -low. Experience tells them to buy ahead. Most valets don’t have I don’t know they should do that,” Sweeney’s post read.

Sell’s final tone on the question was apologetic. He noted that just five years ago selling the 4,500 tickets might have been overkill, but as SDSU’s fanbase has grown, he’s also keen to see the Jackrabbits reach new levels. of success. He understands that a good part of the frustration stems from having an engaged and loyal fanbase, which he hailed as a major asset for SDSU Athletics.

“At the end of the day, I certainly apologize for the confusion. I have people at the ticket office who are some of the greatest we’ve had, and they’ve worked hard to make sure we take as much care as of people as possible,” Sell said. “I wish we could accommodate everyone, but when you get 4,500 seats out of 20,000, there’s going to be a challenge.

[ad_2]