UA slights student fans again

Arizona Daily Wildcat Chris Jackson

I shouldn't be surprised, but it still irks me. Once again the UA athletic department has ignored student fans by moving the Arizona-Arizona State football game to the day after Thanksgiving.

The game was originally supposed to be Nov. 21, but since Fox Sports Arizona wanted to televise it, UA and ASU agreed to move it.

Like many UA students, I go home for Thanksgiving, because, let's face it, it's a lot of free food that you don't have to do anything for.

So, I won't be around to watch what could be the game for the Pacific 10 Conference football title.

I can understand UA wants money. After all, Fox has a lot more than us crazy students, who just form the very basis for the existence of this university. But hey, it's all about the almighty dollar.

The UA could argue that it doesn't matter because students rarely attend campus sporting events anyway.

After all, because we're students we pay the least amount of money, so the fewer of us who show up at games, the better. That way the athletic director can milk more money out of alumni and city residents.

Oh, and supposedly it's a tradition to have the game at that time. Nice tradition. Who started that? It certainly wasn't a student fan.

I could go off on a rant here about how the UA doesn't give a damn about students, just their money, but I'll keep this focused on the AD and the game.

This game is the best one of the year. I hate ASU. I think everyone down here does. Especially after that 56-14 debacle in 1996. Sure, the Wildcats got revenge last year in Tempe, but don't you really want to see them kick some butt down here?

I do, but I'm not about to race 450 miles in one day to get back to watch a football game. I may not always get along with my family, but I'd like to spend at least a weekend with them.

I smiled when I saw when the game had been scheduled for. But, in the pursuit of the more money, UA has decided to hell with all the out-of-state students who are going home, and a great number of in-state students as well, and moved the game.

This from a university that allots about as many student season basketball tickets as there are players on the team.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Maybe there's somewhere in New Mexico that gets Fox Sports Net. But I'd rather be there live.

So a note to the UA athletic department: don't count on my financial support as an alumnus in the future. You don't deserve it.

Chris Jackson is a sophomore majoring in journalism. He is happy next year's New Mexico-Arizona basketball game will be in the Pit, because then he can actually get a ticket for it.