Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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21 ticket sales Seniors stand in line outside Bramlage Coliseum, Saturday Aug. 29, in hopes of purchasing football tickets. At 7 a.m., the line of students streched to Kimball Avenue and began to weave its way into the Vanier Football Complex parking lot. Many students arrived early in the evening on Aug. 28 in order to camp out overnight to secure a position near the front of the line. by Clif Palmberg)

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ARMED WITH SLEEPING BAGS, LAWN CHAIRS, ID CARDS AND A LOVE OF FOOTBALL, STUDENTS CAMP OUT IN ANTICIPATION OF PRIZED TICKETS PIGSKIN PANIC One of the most anticipated football seasons in K-State history quickly turned into a nightmare for hundreds of students before the team even played its first game. Groans filled Bramlage Coliseum at 12:45 p.m., Aug. 29, when Steve Stewman, junior in fine arts, purchased the final sheet of student season tickets and strolled into the coliseum parking lot after waiting six hours. He originally planned to buy tickets for himself and his roommate, but when he was told there was only one ticket left, he took it for himself. I feel bad for my roommate, but I feel lucky, Stewman said. I ' m just hoping to be discrete until everyone is gone. Stewman was fortunate. While Stewman and 8,828 others left Bramlage with cheers of KSU Stadium already ringing in their ears, ticketless students wandered away with bitter memories. This system does not work, Mike Borgelt, junior in theater, said. There ' s got to be a better way. The ticket craze began Aug. 27 at 4:30 p.m. when the first group of students set up camp to secure their place in line. Throughout the course of the night, students trickled into the parking lot, and sleeping bags, coolers and Pizza Shuttle boxes began to dot the sidewalk leading to the Bramlage ticket office. More than 4,700 students from all grade classifications purchased the $160 combination football and basketball season tickets on Aug. 28. The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics said those students supporting both the football and basketball programs should have first priority when buying tickets. After that, priority for the $98 football tickets was based only on class standing. Athletic Director Max Urick said he knew it was impossible to keep every student happy with the new ticket system. With ticket demand growing to an all-time high, Urick reasoned, seniors have been here for four or five years, so obviously they should get first opportunity. When deciding upon a new system, Urick said the athletic department took many factors into consideration. Department officials asked for input from Student Governing Association, the ICAT board and students. They also read critiques from the previous year to determine what students said worked and what didn ' t work. By daybreak on Aug. 29, the second day of ticket sales, a line of anxious seniors spanned to Kimball Avenue and began to wind its way into the Vanier Football Complex parking lot. The crowd slowly moved toward the doors of Bramlage, awaiting an opportunity to buy just football season tickets. Juniors followed seniors at 10 a.m. to buy what was left of the coveted tickets. continued on Page 22 BY ROYAL PURPLE STAFF student life

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PIGSKIN PANIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20 Athletic department officials applauded the adoption of identification scanners, which prevented ticket sales staff from writing thousands of social security numbers and quickened the ticket-buying process. Scanners allowed 700 purchases an hour. Although additional scanners would be used during the 1999 ticket sales to increase productivity, a rule permitting students to purchase tickets for up to three other students of the same class level with proper student identification cards was debated. While many students took advantage of the policy allowing them to purchase tickets for friends, some saw it as an opportunity to make a profit and sold extra season tickets at prices ranging from $150 to $500 a sheet. I don ' t think scalping entered any of our minds, Carol Adolph, intercollegiate athletic agency manager, said. We looked at the pros and cons during meetings, and that issue never came up. We learned very quickly and were very disappointed. Just like tickets, the supply of $30 ICAT passes diminished quickly. During combo ticket sales Aug. 28, more than 2,500 passes were sold, prompting the ICAT board to increase the number of passes available. Even after increasing the original supply by 300, the ICAT board was left with about 200 of the total 2,800 passes on Saturday morning. ICAT Olympics Sports Director Toni Parks, junior in mass communications, said the demand for ICAT passes surpassed expectations. We were expecting to sell about 600 the first day and have a good 1,400 left the next day, Parks said. It was amazing. We never expected it. It totally broadsided us. Since K-State football headed into the season as a top-ranked team, Adolph said she knew ticket demand would far exceed its supply. While K-State dealt with growing pains of athletic success, molding a fool-proof ticket system would consume athletic department officials ' time for the rest of the season. Parents called angry that their children didn ' t get tickets, Adolph said. I asked them if they could think of a better system. They didn ' t have an answer. For right now, neither do I. Ticket Frenzy Fast facts about ticket sales Total tickets sold 8,828 students purchased tickets Combo tickets 4,700 of all tickets were sold as combos ICAT Sold out after 2,800 students bought passes Combo ticket sales $160 per ticket for a gross of $752,000 Football ticket only sales $98 per ticket for a gross of $404,544 Total revenue $1,156,544 from sales of student tickets 22 student life Juniors wait outside the corrals in line for season football tickets Aug. 29 in the Bramlage Coliseum parking lot. Corrals were set up to keep students of the same grade classification together and to reduce line jumping. Students with a senior or above classification received priority on the second day of the sales. Juniors were still in line when the last ticket was sold, leaving underclassmen who had not purchased combo tickets, ticketless. The ticket sales process went faster because the sales staff did not have to write out thousands of social security numbers. The athletic purchased new scanners to help keep lines moving. The scanners allowed 700 purchases an hour. (Photo by Clif Palmberg)