Is USF a sellout

[mavsrage311]

I thought the ticket office had a policy that if students/faculty pick up tix and don't actually attend, they are not permitted to get tickets for the following 3 games.

Sure, that's for freebies given to students/faculty. As we all know, there are a lot of fans that buy tickets to support SMU that may use their tickets once or twice a year...that's why there empties for UCONN.

[ponyinNC]

good point

[SMU89]

Lets be positive.

Shorter beer line

[Pony81]

I agree that it will be a beautiful day when SMU sells out a game against a low tier opponent. That is what LB wants - Dallas fans to turn out to watch his team not the opposition.

I lived through game after game when the " attendance" was 3,000 and the actual was around 1500.

This points to season ticket holders who renew out of a sense of loyalty to SMU - which I applaud - but don't feel compelled to attend. The problem with having a system where the tickets get " donated" back to the school and then resold is that people in premium seats might have to tolerate a yahoo who makes their game unpleasant.

So the solution is for the school to ask for the tickets to be donated if the holder won't attend and for the school to give them to prospective students and their families when they come visit. College visits happen in the early spring and I bet that would chew up a few hundred sold but not used seats.

[gostangs]

the other solution is for the staff to take roll. If a season ticket holders seat is empty for three games in a row then they forfeit their renewal rights and go to the back of the line.

[Digetydog]

the other solution is for the staff to take roll. If a season ticket holders seat is empty for three games in a row then they forfeit their renewal rights and go to the back of the line.

Better idea - let season ticket holders donate their tickets back to the school -> resell them.

I have been a FB season ticket holder for years. I have been to 1 game at Ford. Would love to help SMU get someone in the seats.

Btw - I won't sell on stubhub b/c I can't keep Aggies/?bears/Frogs out of my seats.

[OhioBrownFan]

the other solution is for the staff to take roll. If a season ticket holders seat is empty for three games in a row then they forfeit their renewal rights and go to the back of the line.

Why would they care if people show up or not? Their job is to make sure the tickets are sold and maximize revenue...and your model might work when the team is really good, but you're going to have a ton of pissed off donors/fans with a policy like that. And when the team has a down year, good luck ever having anyone at the game.

[PonyKris89]

So the solution is for the school to ask for the tickets to be donated if the holder won't attend and for the school to give them to prospective students and their families when they come visit. College visits happen in the early spring and I bet that would chew up a few hundred sold but not used seats.

good idea Pony81.

I believe as the program gains momentum, the loyal but frequently absent season ticket holders will have a much easier time distributing their tickets to friends, relatives in addition to attending more games themselves.

as for no-shows at UCONN game, I didn't notice any large chunks of seats empty, especially when you consider a lot of the empty seats were simply the milling about in the concourse crowd.

[Dukie]

the other solution is for the staff to take roll. If a season ticket holders seat is empty for three games in a row then they forfeit their renewal rights and go to the back of the line.

Better idea - let season ticket holders donate their tickets back to the school -> resell them.

I have been a FB season ticket holder for years. I have been to 1 game at Ford. Would love to help SMU get someone in the seats.

Btw - I won't sell on stubhub b/c I can't keep Aggies/?bears/Frogs out of my seats.

Digety, the Mustang Club quietly does this, and will only re-sell them to other Mustang Club members. You should use them to get Mustangs into your seats anytime you can't make it.

[SmooBoy]

I would be ecstatic with 5K fans and an unruly student section, with a no-name oppopnent on a Wednesday night.

[LA_Mustang]

Digety, the Mustang Club quietly does this, and will only re-sell them to other Mustang Club members. You should use them to get Mustangs into your seats anytime you can't make it.

Yes, while living in LA I did this for several games.

[gostangs]

Ohio - I think they care because we aren't just trying to sell tickets, we are trying to create an environment - it is really important to keep the energy level high - and if you have a section of half empty seats in the red seats, then that does not get us where we need to go. We need to start planting an expectation that you either go or make sure someone uses the seat, or we will reassign your seats the next year to somewhere less visible and let someone more interested in going use those visible seats.

Its only about 50 tickets that are the chronic problem. People with more money than sense who think they are supporting the team by buying season tickets and going to three games.

[OhioBrownFan]

Ohio - I think they care because we aren't just trying to sell tickets, we are trying to create an environment - it is really important to keep the energy level high - and if you have a section of half empty seats in the red seats, then that does not get us where we need to go. We need to start planting an expectation that you either go or make sure someone uses the seat, or we will reassign your seats the next year to somewhere less visible and let someone more interested in going use those visible seats.

Its only about 50 tickets that are the chronic problem. People with more money than sense who think they are supporting the team by buying season tickets and going to three games.

I'm not saying I dislike your strategy, I'm simply pointing out the university does not care. They care about $$$$$. That's all. Winning product=$$$$$. If they had a losing product but still made $$$, they wouldn't give a rat's [deleted]. That's just the reality. Know what I mean?

If it wasn't, why do you put the donors in the best seats in the house instead of the students and "true" fans? Why is the Super Bowl a corporate event with very few actual fans? It's just the reality of the situation and as long as SMU gets theirs, they aren't going to care about open seats, not one team in America does. And lastly, they would never waste the time or energy to take notes of ever single seat that wasn't used for a given event. That's just not practical and ultimately costs them even more money. Hopefully this makes sense from their perspective, as I said, from a fan's standpoint, I love your idea.

[DiamondM]

A bit of history: When the Boulevard first opened, people who bought spots signed a pledge show up and tailgate so that the Boulevard would be a success (even for non-marquee opponents). Unfortunately, this pledge was never enforced. There continue to be some Boulevard spot owners that use their spot as a last minute parking spot, or worse yet, don't show up at all unless the game is a big one.

I think the use it or lose it policy should be enforced for the Boulevard, and for prime seating in Moody (blue seats and floor seats -- the ones that have the most impact on the atmosphere), but it should make reasonable allowance for a few games missed each season (life happens) and also if the ticket holder can demonstrate a reasonable effort to get their seats filled by turning in unused tickets to SMU or some other method.

[OhioBrownFan]

Again, I agree with what you're saying, I just don't think it's a reasonable expectation nor do they care. I think you're viewing it as a short-term solution and when the team is good. When SMU is bad, SMU will be lucky to sell any seats for crap games. But guess what, even if people don't show up that are season ticket holders to watch a not good SMU team against a bad opponent, those seats are sold. That's why it can't be reinforced. You rely on those same people to get money even when the team is bad. It's a two-way street or necessary evil.

Just like all venues have a certain amount of ticket brokers. They are absolutely necessary because they buy the crap games that would never sell otherwise. And people benefit by getting tickets cheaper on the secondary market then then going to the primary. Just like how many people will pay less for Wednesdays game then they would through the ticket office by going to StubHub, ect. It benefits all parties involved even though fans will only remember the time they paid twice face for the Louisville game, but forget when they got their ticket at half-price for UCF, USF, and Rutgers.