BOL Round Table

It may not look full but a lot of times you have more people squeezing on a row than the number of seats. Therefore there will be some empty spots.

I've been the student sections biggest critic, but I sat in the student section saturday and it was packed. We got there nearly 2 hours early and it was already filling up.

Am I missing something?

well said...especially the last 2 sentences...

The reason there are empty seats is because everyone wants to be in the lower portion and they pack in there like sardines. They are using all of the ticket allotment, just dont want to be way the hell up there.

IMO, they should increase the student seating in the lower bowl, creating a tremendous atmosphere, and use all of the South upper deck for non-students. (yes I know that will never happen because the high paying tide pride ticket holders also want lower level seats) but if you want the stadium to "appear" full that's the simple remedy.

Back to the original point though, the students used all of their seats. They just refused to sit half way to Heaven and I don't blame them.

Just my $0.02. Roll Tide

IMO.. They should put seat numbers on the tickets and not allow the students to pack the lower yet leave the upper empty.. They will not allow others to do this , so why do they allow the students to do it?? I dont know how student tickets are done... but if they are first come first serve then every ticket should have a section and a seat number just like the rest of them. Quick fix IMO.

Why put them in the upper deck anyways? Stupid if you ask me

The reason that students aren't assigned a seat on their ticket is that the ticket is on our action card. Also if the University just randomly picked a spot for us to sit then kids won't be sitting with their friends which will make kids switch seats so that they can sit with friends which will just cause a huge mess. Also the student section was packed yesterday. I don't know about the upper deck but the lower deck was. In fact the lower deck was overly packed. Why would a kid want to sit in the upper section when you get the true experience in the lower section. Everyone knows that the lower level of the student section is where you want to be it has the most energy and really gives you a full feel of the game and is a lot of fun. So i agree with the poster who said give the students more tickets in the lower level and sell the tickets in the upper level. Also one reason students leave early especially on games like North Texas or Kent State is that we get there 2-3 hours before the game so that we can actually get a seat in the lower deck and when the game starts to become a rout some kids don't want to sit there and watch and unexciting game especially after sitting there for at least 2 hours. I understand your upset that the upper deck isn't filled and you want to use those tickets but don't get mad at the students for wanting to sit in the real game atmosphere. Because as Bamagrad03 said he was critical of the student section until he sat in the student section and now his views are starting to change.

Actually that is not true. The University of Michigan has assigned seating for their student section. Granted people still move around but if the row becomes more congested than it should be someone can complain to the staff and they will check the tickets of everyone on the row.

I agree 11jtcrimson, I was in u4 mm and I was one of the few that was standing and yelling throughout the game. If I am 55 yrs old then the thirty somethings can get up and support the team. The people behind me were commenting that they wish I would calm down and give the shaker a rest. My comment is get up and support or you can eat my shaker. Husband a LSU fan (yes I know a weak moment for marrying a corndog) and we go to a lot of LSU games. Everyone is standing and yelling even 80 yr old grannies.

Every student should have the opportunity to buy tickets. This is a university not a pro football team. Do what Usc does. Take away the chance to buy tix if they no show. As for leaving early, that is your individual business as much as it frustrates us all.

I downvoted OP's original post because I think cutting student tickets is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. The University has been rapidly expanding as has the stadium, so cutting student tickets is just a logical fallacy and that suggestion is a nonstarter. Everyone has the exact same opportunity to attend the University and receive the same benefits that come with paying tuition and helping to further the University academically (for those students that actually do further the University academically). Those benefits include $5 student tickets and the opportunity to sit anywhere and stay for however long you want to in the student section. In fact, I've enjoyed those benefits so much that this is my sixth year paying the University tuition money and I have one more left (law school). I have no idea who the OP is or who anyone else is complaining about student tickets but I really hope you guys are all alums. Simply put, non-alums have absolutely no standing for complaining about student ticket allotments.

With that small rant said, I think one problem is rerouting students to the upper deck and then not providing any sort of indication of where they are actually supposed to sit. I realize that I haven't gone out of my way to find that information but I usually get there early enough to sit in the lower deck. Yesterday, though, I got to the stadium an hour before the game and was rerouted to the upper deck. I was with three other people and we found what appeared to be the only available seats but of course were actually assigned seats to other people. We just had to squeeze in and I felt really bad about making it somewhat less comfortable for the people who bought those tickets and were assigned those specific seats. But I, as well as other students, had no where else to go because I don't think there's actually a designated student section in the upper deck. That said, I never leave big games early. If it's Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Georgia, Florida, etc. I'm not going to leave the game early regardless of the score but I realize that that's primarily because I consider myself a bigger Alabama football fan than the average person. But I do find it understandable that other students leave early when they are forced to go to the upper deck and sit in whatever unoccupied seat they can find. It just puts you and everyone around you in an uncomfortable position. They just started doing this last year and the University never really explained what they were doing or what students were supposed to do if they got there less than two hours before the game. So I think that's a problem that needs to be addressed. Either designate an exclusive student section in the upper deck or expand the student section in the lower deck. Cutting student ticket allotments is not an option.

Not a student at UA, but I sat in the upper bowl student section yesterday, and I have sat in the lower bowl in the past. The seats in the upper bowl are way better IMO. You can see all the plays unfolding so much better from being up high like that. Several sitting around me also made similiar comments. The upper bowl was full yesterday until halftime when some started to leave and then really emptied at the end of 3rd quarter. But I did stay to the end and sing Rammer Jammer