"Student Tickets, Please!": A New Method Of Ticket Sales

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Penn State football season is finally upon us. Another year full of school spirit and tradition. This season, however, the athletic department at Penn State is trying something different that students aren't exactly too thrilled about.

In previous years, students who purchased season tickets received coupon tickets by mail mid-August. To enter the stadium, (for student section seats) all you needed was your ticket and your Penn State student ID card...not anymore.

This year, the athletic department at Penn State has made the student tickets a lot tougher to get your hands on. In an effort to decrease ticket scalping, student season tickets will now be virtually placed directly onto the ID card of the student who purchased them. The ID card will be swiped upon entry into the stadium. No physical student tickets will be administered.

So does this mean that if your a student (or not a student) at Penn State who wants to purchase a student section seat, you can't?

Not necessarily. The athletic department is allowing the resale of student tickets upon certain conditions.

The buying and selling of all tickets will be done on-line, through an account which is registered to each student. For students who attend Penn State, the transfer of the ticket from ID card (seller) to ID card (buyer) will be charged a 15% processing fee in addition to the purchase price. Prices for any individual ticket can be sold for a minimum of $30 and a maximum of $60 and a single student can sell only up to six (6) individual tickets per season.

For any guest who is not a student of Penn State, you would pay the price of the individual ticket, a $29 validation fee, and a 15 percent processing fee.

What do PSU students think about this change?

Kara Rowles (Senior-Majoring in Business Administration) says, "I think that the new way of doing things is complete bull. I purchased the tickets so I should be able to give the ones that I won't use to who ever I want to without any hassle or extra fees."

Vanessa Williams (Senior-Accounting) also thinks that the new method is causing more confusion and aggravation than it is actually helping. "I know that scalping is illegal, but come on now—this is ridiculous," says Vanessa.

Butch Carrabbia (Sophmore-IST) says, "I got tickets last year and I had a blast! I never had any trouble buying or selling my tickets. I think that this year is going to be a headache, but I'm sure students will find a way to get around it."

With the first game verse Akron closely upon us, I guess we're going to have to roll with the punches and see how this new method that the athletic department has installed plays out.

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