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Campus adjusts to new student ticket policyBy Kevin Bergquist
The start of a new football season at Michigan Stadium Saturday brought not only new hopes and expectations on the field, but also a new student ticket policy. Starting with Saturday’s game against Washington, and continuing all season through six more home games, fans holding student tickets are admitted to Michigan Stadium only with valid student identification or a properly validated ticket. If U-M students want to give or sell their tickets to family members, non-student friends or the general public, the tickets must be validated before the game. Validation consists of paying $25 a ticket and having a sticker affixed to the ticket, making it valid for any non-student to use for admittance to Michigan Stadium. Only students can validate student tickets, and it must be done at one of five locations: the U-M athletic ticket office, the Michigan Union ticket office, the Pierpont Commons cashier’s office, the U-M–Dearborn cashier’s office and the U-M–Flint cashier’s office. Tickets cannot be validated at Michigan Stadium on game days. However, the Michigan Union ticket office is open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for students wishing to validate tickets. All student tickets are priced at $18.50. Including the $25 validation fee, the price of a ticket for non-students is $43.50. “Our No. 1 priority is the students and making tickets available to them,” says Marty Bodnar, U-M director of ticket services. “By and large, there has been a good response to the new policy. There have been some fans with questions, but once you explain the policy to them, they are okay with it.” Bodnar says the U-M athletic department encourages student participation, but he knows many student tickets are used by non-students. U-M officials strive to make sure all students who want to attend games have access to tickets. If non-students want to use student tickets, it is only fair and equitable that they pay the same price as the rest of the public, he says. The U-M ticket office began informing students of the new policy by e-mail earlier this year and has sent two letters to them this summer, Bodnar says. In addition, an e-mail was sent to students last week reminding them of the policy. All student tickets are clearly marked, in bold red letters: “Student I.D. or Validation Sticker Required for Admission.” U-M boasts one of the largest student fan bases in the country with more than 16,000 student season tickets. With an attractive home schedule this year, including games against Penn State, Michigan State and Wisconsin, demand is high. “We are very confident things will go smoothly,” says Bodnar, stressing it is important for students wishing to validate their tickets to do so as soon as possible and not wait until game days. “The important thing is making people aware of the policy.” For more information on the new ticket policy, contact the U-M athletic ticket office at (734) 764-0247 or visit www.mgoblue.com/ticketoffice. More Stories
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