OSU alumni association has fewer tickets to distribute
Change in way football tickets are distributed means some alumni could lose place in line.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Several years ago, a woman called Alan Nelson's Classic Tickets inquiring about Ohio State football seats as a Father's Day present. It was May, and Nelson didn't yet have the tickets in hand, so he asked her for a down payment.
Soon after, the woman entered his office, took out a large home change bank and emptied its contents until she reached the required $120.
Extras
"The whole time," Nelson said, "she was happy as a lark."
It seems that Buckeyes fans will shell out anything, including nickels and dimes, to secure football tickets. That was made clear last week when the OSU Alumni Association announced procedure changes in how it will disperse its 71,000 tickets this season, including a blind eye to seniority.
The alumni association, though, gives out only a fraction of the 105,000 or so seats for each Buckeyes game, and the challenge in shuffling the right tickets to deserving people is growing more complicated. As the team's popularity grows after two consecutive appearances in the BCS championship game and more parties become eligible for tickets, demand is increasing and tickets are getting more expensive.
The alumni association changed its rules because it will receive 18,000 fewer tickets this year for its members and it didn't want the same people to find constant denial, said Jay Hansen, an association spokesperson. As it waits for 92,000 applications to return, the group is just the latest to tighten its belt.
"We've obviously heard from quite a few long-time members of the association," Hansen said. "With our ticket resources decreasing, there's the potential that a greater portion of alumni aren't getting tickets. People look at the system and say, 'This is just to get younger members to join.' We're just dealing with the reality."
In that reality, Ohio State sets aside about 75,000 seats each year for students, faculty, staff and donors. The alumni association's piece varies depending on the number of seats reserved for the opposing team, former Buckeyes players, recruits, sponsors and others.
There are, after all, just so many seats in Ohio Stadium.
"Even if you built a 200,000-seat stadium," said Bill Jones, Ohio State's assistant athletic director for ticketing and premium seating, "you'd have 100,000 seats no one would want."
Some groups get squeezed, although Jones noted that many schools with major football programs don't provide nearly as many tickets to the alumni association or faculty and staff, if any at all.
"In our world, we can see things getting tighter and tighter, because each constituency is going to grow," Jones said. "There will be more graduates, probably more donors because the program is successful, more alumni from the program.
"We're going to face an interesting problem where we might not be able to guarantee donors football tickets. We're close to that now."
Some fans, like Nancy Dougherty, are the lucky ones. The president of the alumni association's Montgomery County chapter, Dougherty is set with season tickets but understands that some long-time members will be upset by the move negating their place in line.
After all, she knows how long it takes for new acquaintances to ask if she could share those tickets.
"Usually," Dougherty said, laughing, "it's the second question."
That interest keeps ticket brokers like Nelson busy.
"Even for us," Nelson said, "they're much harder to get."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com.
Tightening the belt
Last week, the OSU Alumni Association announced it will change how it distributes Buckeyes football tickets to its members as it will receive 18,000 fewer tickets this season. The new policies include:
Active members who apply by May 31 will enter a random ticket lottery to determine who will get tickets for which games.
All members have the same chance in the lottery without nod to seniority. Donor history will not be a consideration.
Two single members who live in the same household will now each receive an application. Previously, the pair would receive one.
Ohio State-Michigan tickets will be included in the random lottery.
Source: OSU Alumni Association
