Duke Week has come and gone and The Diamondback predictably contained a few letters to the editor from students who either did or did not receive a ticket to the game. Unfortunately, these letters often contain a number of factual inaccuracies regarding online student ticket distribution.
The student ticket policy was developed by students and for students, though it is frequently mislabeled as a “university” or “athletics” policy. Maryland students developed the online system during the summer of 2002 and have continually enhanced it through direct feedback — both from concerned individuals and from a student advisory committee that makes specific recommendations to the Athletics Department after each academic year. Interested students are encouraged to visit the “What’s New” link on the left menu of the student ticket website, www.tickets.umd.edu, which details enhancements made by students over the past four years.
About 7,800 students registered for the 4,000 student tickets to this year’s Duke game, similar to the demand in past years. Not every student was able to attend the game, of course, but Duke tickets were awarded according to the loyalty distribution policy created by students, the same as for all other games.
It is interesting to note that, aside from the Duke game, additional seats have been available to students for every game this season. Up until Saturday, every student who has come to the Terrapin Ticket Office on game day has been issued a ticket near tip-off to utilize a seat left empty by a student no-show. This has been true for nearly every game against teams not named “Duke” over the past four years.
Students who no-show lose loyalty points, and hundreds of students have already recorded three no-shows this year, thereby rendering themselves ineligible for tickets for the remainder of the season and putting more tickets into the hands of loyal students who do attend games.
The goal of the Athletics Department and the Terrapin Ticket Office is to continue to deliver the student ticket policy that students desire. We are committed to investing the financial and staff resources necessary to provide for students the convenience of online ticketing.
While there is no perfect system, Maryland students have done such a good job crafting their ticket policy that Virginia, West Virginia, NC State, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and other peers have adopted similar online systems, including large portions of Maryland’s policy.
If you have thoughts or suggestions regarding how the policy, website or other aspects of student ticketing can be improved, I encourage you to email the Terrapin Ticket Office at terptix@umd.edu. Your suggestions will be reviewed by our staff and provided to the student advisory committee for its consideration following the spring semester. Go Terps!
Michael Lipitz is Senior Associate Athletics Director for Administration for Maryland Athletics and a 1996 university graduate. He can be reached at mlipitz@umd.edu.
