Mr2Bits
Gator Fan
Anyone else having problems?
Gators are growling over football lottery tickets
KIRI LANICE WALTON
Campus correspondent
Perhaps one recently created Facebook group sums up everything unlucky University of Florida student football fans are feeling.
It's called: "I Want To Punch the 'All Circuits Are Busy Now' Lady in the Face," and refers to the difficulty getting through on the G.A.T.O.R.S. phone line to order football tickets for next fall.
More students entered this year's football lottery, which meant when the university announced over the weekend who received tickets, more people cried and cursed under their breath than in years past.
Only 83 percent of students who entered this year's lottery were granted season tickets, down from last year's 88 percent, said Mark Gajda, assistant ticket manager for student tickets.
This year was the second year that UF has held a lottery for its 21,500 student tickets with a three-week window for students to call in and register. Students had from April 6 until April 13 to call in.
Those with 90 or more UF credit hours had the best chance of winning tickets. However, there are allocations for students who have earned 60-90 UF credits, 30-59 UF credits and 29 or fewer credits, which includes incoming freshmen and transfer students.
However, there was no guarantee that all qualifying students would receive tickets and that has some upcoming seniors upset.
"It just completely sucks," said upcoming senior Sean Gallagher about seniors like himself who don't win season tickets. He'd already started planning his road trip with friends for the Louisiana State University game.
The system, while imperfect, was created after Student Government passed a resolution a few years ago that settled on a lottery system based on UF credit hours earned.
"We had to come up with something fair," Gajda said. "And students spoke up."
That doesn't appease Gallagher, who has won tickets for the past three years.
"I was supposed to be running a block with (a friend) this year," he said. "So, it kind of hurts."
Gallagher said he will try to speak to University Athletic Association officials who deal with football blocks to see if anything can be done.
He said it's unfair that someone who has not taken any classes on campus is able to get tickets, but as a senior, he won't be able to have that privilege.
Gajda said UF is second in the nation only to Texas A&M for the amount of student tickets given out. He suggests that those students not receiving tickets to try the unclaimed ticket sales, which begin at 6 p.m. every Thursday before a game.
Perez said there should definitely be more seats for seniors. He suggests there be a system for those with the highest number of credits to call in by a specific date, and then those who have the next highest credits can register by a later date, and so on like class registration or basketball season's Rowdy Reptiles.
Andrew Perez, who will be a sophomore next year, actually has the credits of a junior due to Advanced Placement classes taken in high school. However, any credit hours earned from Advanced Placement classes or transferred from any other institution do not count towards the lottery requirements.
Therefore, he is part of the largest group of students, and the least likely to receive season tickets: those with 29 or fewer UF credit hours. There are roughly 8,500 students who fall in this category and about 66 percent of them were granted tickets, Gajda said.
"You need to give priority to those students who've been on campus and paid their dues," Gajda said.
Gators are growling over football lottery tickets
KIRI LANICE WALTON
Campus correspondent
Perhaps one recently created Facebook group sums up everything unlucky University of Florida student football fans are feeling.
It's called: "I Want To Punch the 'All Circuits Are Busy Now' Lady in the Face," and refers to the difficulty getting through on the G.A.T.O.R.S. phone line to order football tickets for next fall.
More students entered this year's football lottery, which meant when the university announced over the weekend who received tickets, more people cried and cursed under their breath than in years past.
Only 83 percent of students who entered this year's lottery were granted season tickets, down from last year's 88 percent, said Mark Gajda, assistant ticket manager for student tickets.
This year was the second year that UF has held a lottery for its 21,500 student tickets with a three-week window for students to call in and register. Students had from April 6 until April 13 to call in.
Those with 90 or more UF credit hours had the best chance of winning tickets. However, there are allocations for students who have earned 60-90 UF credits, 30-59 UF credits and 29 or fewer credits, which includes incoming freshmen and transfer students.
However, there was no guarantee that all qualifying students would receive tickets and that has some upcoming seniors upset.
"It just completely sucks," said upcoming senior Sean Gallagher about seniors like himself who don't win season tickets. He'd already started planning his road trip with friends for the Louisiana State University game.
The system, while imperfect, was created after Student Government passed a resolution a few years ago that settled on a lottery system based on UF credit hours earned.
"We had to come up with something fair," Gajda said. "And students spoke up."
That doesn't appease Gallagher, who has won tickets for the past three years.
"I was supposed to be running a block with (a friend) this year," he said. "So, it kind of hurts."
Gallagher said he will try to speak to University Athletic Association officials who deal with football blocks to see if anything can be done.
He said it's unfair that someone who has not taken any classes on campus is able to get tickets, but as a senior, he won't be able to have that privilege.
Gajda said UF is second in the nation only to Texas A&M for the amount of student tickets given out. He suggests that those students not receiving tickets to try the unclaimed ticket sales, which begin at 6 p.m. every Thursday before a game.
Perez said there should definitely be more seats for seniors. He suggests there be a system for those with the highest number of credits to call in by a specific date, and then those who have the next highest credits can register by a later date, and so on like class registration or basketball season's Rowdy Reptiles.
Andrew Perez, who will be a sophomore next year, actually has the credits of a junior due to Advanced Placement classes taken in high school. However, any credit hours earned from Advanced Placement classes or transferred from any other institution do not count towards the lottery requirements.
Therefore, he is part of the largest group of students, and the least likely to receive season tickets: those with 29 or fewer UF credit hours. There are roughly 8,500 students who fall in this category and about 66 percent of them were granted tickets, Gajda said.
"You need to give priority to those students who've been on campus and paid their dues," Gajda said.
I gotta admit that it makes me want to go over to the athletic office and really let them know what I think about it. The fact that I know that there are tons of students who either will only go to a game or two, or even worse simply bought tickets to turn around and resell them at a profit to unfortunate people like myself who didn't get them, really pisses me off. 
