Anybody going to the reseat discussion Dec. 11?

[peruna11]

What I wasn't able to clarify (since it didn't apply to me) is what happens if you don't currently have seats, but make a big donation. Will you jump ahead of everyone below you on the current year donation list or will all current season tickets get seats first??

They covered this pretty well last night. As the plan stands now, ALL current basketball season ticket holders will choose seats before anyone new gets in the door, regardless of donation and/or points.

The only people that can bump you are existing basketball season ticket holders with more points at selection time than you.

The perceived donation bidding war only exists among current basketball season ticket holders.

[Nacho]

my seats are horrendous. no need to bump me if you are thinking about it.

[SMU Section F]

I'm not sure why people are saying they are NOT raising ticket prices...they are, in form of a donation per seat.

If I gave $500 for my tickets, now I will have to give $1000. That is a price increase for the tickets no matter what the price says it is per game.

They're definitely raising prices (especially if you look at 2012 through 2015), but I don't think that is most people's problem with the plan.

[CoxMustangFan]

What I wasn't able to clarify (since it didn't apply to me) is what happens if you don't currently have seats, but make a big donation. Will you jump ahead of everyone below you on the current year donation list or will all current season tickets get seats first??

They covered this pretty well last night. As the plan stands now, ALL current basketball season ticket holders will choose seats before anyone new gets in the door, regardless of donation and/or points.

The only people that can bump you are existing basketball season ticket holders with more points at selection time than you.

The perceived donation bidding war only exists among current basketball season ticket holders.

Thanks. Makes sense.

[Grant Carter]

my seats are horrendous. no need to bump me if you are thinking about it.

I already emailed them saying I wanted your seats.

[Nacho]

there goes my box.

[Pony_Law]

Listen, I know everyone here doesn't want to hear this but we are faced with the reality that our financial stability in the athletics department is on incredibly shaky ground. SMU basketball has shown itself to a fun, exciting, and engaging product. Until we get football to the point where we are putting 23K-27K in the stands consistently, basketball is gonna have to be the breadwinner program. If the extra money bothers you then don't whine when SMU football shuts down like UAB b/c the athletic department and the university will no longer foot the bill for a program that is losing money hand over fist.

IMO, the value of SMU basketball is still incredibly cheap for the product on the floor and the venue. If that is a problem then fine. There will be someone else to take your place. Oh, and I'm a 31 year old alum so I'm not one of the blue hairs with a trust fund. I just understand what the athletic department is faced with financially and that the time to try and strike is now. Everybody ropes, everybody rides. That includes the fans.

I'm sorry but a school that has over a billion dollars in their endowment and charges north of 60k a year all in room and board does not get to cry poverty on any issue ever. It is simply a question of prioritizing and allocating resources. I would argue athletics deserve a high priority because they a) advertise the school, and b) create a bond with the community that directly helps increase donations.

[untitled]

Listen, I know everyone here doesn't want to hear this but we are faced with the reality that our financial stability in the athletics department is on incredibly shaky ground. SMU basketball has shown itself to a fun, exciting, and engaging product. Until we get football to the point where we are putting 23K-27K in the stands consistently, basketball is gonna have to be the breadwinner program. If the extra money bothers you then don't whine when SMU football shuts down like UAB b/c the athletic department and the university will no longer foot the bill for a program that is losing money hand over fist.

IMO, the value of SMU basketball is still incredibly cheap for the product on the floor and the venue. If that is a problem then fine. There will be someone else to take your place. Oh, and I'm a 31 year old alum so I'm not one of the blue hairs with a trust fund. I just understand what the athletic department is faced with financially and that the time to try and strike is now. Everybody ropes, everybody rides. That includes the fans.

SMT, that is all well and good, but read the posts in this thread - very few are complaining about the price increase and separation of the football and basketball donations. People are upset because of the re-seating and being forced to outbid others for seats they've had for years. I don't mind paying significantly more for my seats and helping SMU with their athletic budget deficit, but I would like the opportunity to keep my seats. That a bunch of rich folks didn't get on board with SMU bball until we beat UCONN last year and became the "it" team in Dallas is not my problem, but unfortunately for me, SMU does not seem to agree with me on that issue.

[PonyTime]

So this is one time fundraising deal, right?

What's the top end of what they're planning on raising through this scheme? 3 million?

That seems like a lot of dough ( ) but is it worth [deleted] off the fans that get the short end of the stick?

Seems like they need to set the prices/donation levels, see who stays, and then auction off remaining seats to MC members. Fans could earn their way onto the bidder list through MC points. Want two floor seats? Bidding starts at 10 grand and there are 300 people that qualify. It'd be worth $8 beers at the auction just to watch the action.

And that could be a yearly event...

CORRECTION - they said in the meeting that they hope to make an additional $1 Mil off of this. That is the price that they deem appropriate to PO a bunch of people...

[Blunt Pony]

Listen, I know everyone here doesn't want to hear this but we are faced with the reality that our financial stability in the athletics department is on incredibly shaky ground. SMU basketball has shown itself to a fun, exciting, and engaging product. Until we get football to the point where we are putting 23K-27K in the stands consistently, basketball is gonna have to be the breadwinner program. If the extra money bothers you then don't whine when SMU football shuts down like UAB b/c the athletic department and the university will no longer foot the bill for a program that is losing money hand over fist.

IMO, the value of SMU basketball is still incredibly cheap for the product on the floor and the venue. If that is a problem then fine. There will be someone else to take your place. Oh, and I'm a 31 year old alum so I'm not one of the blue hairs with a trust fund. I just understand what the athletic department is faced with financially and that the time to try and strike is now. Everybody ropes, everybody rides. That includes the fans.

The argument that the value of SMU basketball is incredibly cheap is a little misleading. You could make that argument based on 1/2 a season last year but what about historically and what about now? The problem is this program could not give away tickets 2 years ago and now we are asking people to donate $500 to $5000 per seat to have the right to buy a ticket? It has swung too far too fast in the other direction and it is going to bite them.

[PonyTime]

I think I might just have to buy Lakers tickets...

[Pony81]

[From what I can tell, most season tickets holders aren't upset that the price is going up -- they're upset that they're not getting first option on their existing tickets at the new price.]

This is exactly my point. I have 2 seats in 204. Simply tell me the cost to keep them. If I don't want them then I decline, don't feel cheated and move on to another section or just don't buy tickets.

Reading between the lines - SMU doesn't know the value of its ticket - and is running this re-seat quasi-auction type thing. If it prices 204 too high, people leave. Too low, nobody leaves and they've left money on the table.
If I had the fragile fan base like SMU, I'd err on the side of caution - ie: leaving some money on the table.

[freqz]

CORRECTION - they said in the meeting that they hope to make an additional $1 Mil off of this. That is the price that they deem appropriate to PO a bunch of people...

Good Lord. They'll come close to clearing that with the increased donation for Loge and Floor seats.

[OhioBrownFan]

I can't believe the price increases. Those are serious donations, nearly all the B10 schools are cheaper donations (sorry for B10 reference, just what I'm familiar with to use for perspective). I can't believe how quickly they're trying to capitalize. What happens if Brown retires and the team takes a step back? Is the place gonna clear out and then drop the ridiculous price while begging the loyal fans to come back? The ones that were in Moody last year.

[StallionsModelT]

I hear the frustrations and I understand them. If anything, I blame SMU for not being transparent with the fans. We are losing more money than most of us would want to really know. Any money that can be brought in is vital. Is it shortsided? Yes. But the reality that the future of some prominent programs could be gone in the next decade if we are not able to get P5 is at the front of everyone's mind in the athletic department.