Students rushing to get Zona Zoo passes have few complaints. However they are wondering, Îwhat's with the blue shirts?'

Ella Peterson, an undeclared freshman who bought the Zona Zoo pass and received the free, blue t-shirt that comes with it, doesn't know why the university has decided to go against the traditional red, worn during UA games.

"I don't understand why they would want to promote differences during a time when you really want the students to unite and stick to tradition," said Ella Peterson.

Approximately 3,700 students have bought the passes since sales began last semester. Coordinators expect these numbers to rise rapidly within the week as incoming students learn more about the pass.

"Sales for the Zona Zoo passes are going better than we could have ever expected," said Chris Del Conte, associate athletics director for development and external operations. "It has been well-received by students and is a wonderful program for everybody."

The original goal was to sell a total of 5,000 tickets; the sales are now expected to exceed that number by the end of this week, said Peter Wand, ASUA spirit director.

Promoters of the Zona Zoo agree that having blue shirts goes against the traditional red but that their intentions were to make Zona Zoo members stick out during the games.

"Navy blue shirts allow Zona Zoo students to stand out," said J.P. Benedict, ASUA president. "Tradition is important, but we're trying to mix things up, make it more exciting, if there is not a good response then we can always go back to red."

ASUA's spirit department agrees that tradition is important, but are looking to start some traditions of their own, beginning with changing the fact that red is the dominant color worn at sporting events.

The idea was to change it up and have a red and blue theme at games. The spirit department is "a wild and crazy" department and don't have to always do what is expected, Wand said.

Besides landing students a free t-shirt, the Zona Zoo pass allows holders to gain access to all volleyball, football, softball, baseball, gymnastics, and women's basketball home games for $35.

"With Zona Zoo passes, students can buy one pass without worrying about buying particular tickets," said Benedict.

Zona Zoo students are also automatically entered into the men's basketball ticket raffle if they purchase their pass before Sept. 12.

"I won't deny that most students bought the passes in order to be entered into the lottery," said Wand. "But there are other benefits to the tickets that make it worth more then just an entry into the basketball ticket lottery."

Only Zona Zoo members are put in the lottery for upper level seats on Oct. 7. If they don't win tickets on that day, they are entered into a second raffle on Oct. 23, along with the general student population.

The purpose of having the Zona Zoo lottery is not expected to solve last year's rioting problem during the basketball ticket lottery. It is still unsure how the lottery will go this year. However, last year's rioting is blamed more on a lack of security than a badly organized lottery.

"Last year, security directly refused to regulate the lines, which caused the rioting," Benedict said.

The idea of Zona Zoo started last year, but was exclusive only to basketball. Free shirts and newsletters were given to students.

The program had an overwhelming response from students, with 85 percent of students wearing the shirts that were given out, Wand said.

With the success of last year, Wand saw an opportunity to expand the program to all athletics in order to create more spirit within the student population.

"I know there were already spirit clubs in UA, but spots in the club were always limited. Zona Zoo allows all students to participate," Wand said. "The Zona Zoo sections at the games will be packed with students, fully unified, and looking dominant to visitors."

Zona Zoo passes can be purchased throughout the football season, but in order to be purchased for entry into the basketball lottery, students need to buy them before Sept. 12.