By
Jose Ceja
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Univ. of Oregon charges mandatory fees for athletics, but UA officials unsure of plan's feasibility
Even though the UA has developed one of the nation's top basketball programs, it has done so with what many believe is an undersized portion of an important ingredient to many teams' successes: student fans.
Although many other schools across the nation have found solutions to student ticket shortages, the problem still weighs on the minds of UA students.
Atal Wassimi, a physiological sciences junior, said tickets to University of Arizona men's basketball games are so difficult to obtain, he has given up entirely.
"I didn't think I would get it," he said. "I don't have good luck."
Wassimi said the high numbers of people who sign up for the lottery to buy basketball tickets have left many students discouraged, thinking it almost impossible to win.
"Students are discouraged with the system, and if they win, they can't have good seats anyway," he said. "I don't see a reason why anyone should come before us (in purchasing the tickets)."
Seth Frantzman, an Associated Students senator, has been among the most vocal student government members in expressing the need for improved student seating.
Frantzman is currently finishing a survey to present to the athletic department to demonstrate support for a student section.
Right now, students in McKale Center who win tickets in the lottery are scattered about the arena, something Frantzman compared to the vibrant student sections other colleges have.
"It would be nice to concentrate students in one area," he said. "It would be great for the team, great for the students, great for school spirit."
Last March, a group of business students attempted to solve students' difficulties in purchasing basketball tickets by creating an online auction program which would allow students to bid on tickets.
Although their plan never worked, Bart Wilson, instructor of economics, is hopeful that it still could.
"This is not a problem unique to Arizona," he said.
Some schools that once faced the problem, though, have attempted to balance student and general public tickets in other ways.
Students at the University of Oregon pay about $660 a year for fees which go to the student government, said Dave Heeke, associate director of athletics at UO.
Out of this money, $88 a year go to the athletic program, and in return, student tickets for sports such as football or basketball are set aside.
This system has allowed Oregon's McArthur Court to seat 2,380 students -rivaling McKale's 2,440 - but being proportionally much more, since McKale has almost twice the overall capacity of McArthur.
Although there is no guarantee that students will receive tickets even though all students pay the fee, Heeke said this system has worked well at the University of Oregon.
"We have had very few complaints," he said.
Dave Willford, spokesperson for the University of Oregon athletic department, said that by contributing almost $2 million to the athletic system, the UO is able to provide students some of the best tickets to sporting events.
"Students have always had courtside access, the theory being that students are the major part of any university," Willford said. "But everyone has a different philosophy."
Jim Livengood, director of the UA athletic department, is among those with a different view.
Livengood said he doubted such a system would work at UA and that it was unfair that students not interested in sports would have to pay the fee.
He said the task of distributing tickets always has to be balanced with the need for revenue provided by outside donors.
"It's really hard to please everybody," he said.
Livengood said the athletic department works with ASUA to determine the best way to distribute tickets. So far, the lottery system - in which students enter their name to win the opportunity to purchase tickets - has worked the best.
Frantzman, however, sees certain advantages in a system such as Oregon's.
UA students, Frantzman said, already pay mandatory fees for the recreation center, which many do not use, and such a system - which would function on a first come-first served method - would reward the biggest fans.
"It would reward students who take the time (to stand in line for each game) instead of rewarding them (all season) by the luck of the draw," he said.
Ben Graff, ASUA president, said although ASUA is allowed to comment on the system, they do not have enough of a say in how the tickets are distributed.
"We're basically consulted but have no decision-making powers," Graff said. "I wish we did have more of a say, because we could make a lot of changes."
Although Graff said he was not sure if a system such as the University of Oregon's would work at the UA, he said many students have approached him on the issue, and he agrees it is a problem.
Graff said students need to get involved in the issue, both by voicing their concerns and by suggesting alternatives.
"There needs to be more student input," he said. "I definitely agree that there is a problem."
