Growing Problem With Students Getting Into Football Games (Updated 1pm)

'07 Football Fans General NCS Football57

Have you walked past the student entrance into football games recently? It takes students 30-90 minutes just to get into football games (if they don’t have to leave the line to go find a port-a-john during the wait. We saw this editorial in the Technician this morning, and thought SFN readers should take note.

We’ve noticed the student lines at Carter-Finley for a couple of years and think that whatever is happening is absurd. They’ve killed Hillsborough Street. They’ve killed the Greek system. They’re working hard on killing tailgating. Why not just go ahead and dissolve the Alumni Association NOW!? The alums currently being produced at NC State have such a lackluster social experience while in Raleigh that they won’t have enough fun experiences upon which to fondly reflect when they become successful to have any motivation to contribute to the University.

The student body has been concerned with two main things this fall: football and fees. Undergraduates pay $126.50 toward the intercollegiate athletic fee, which increased from $119 the previous spring. This is in addition to the intercollegiate athletic indebtedness fee that jumped from $25 last spring to $66 this fall. This is a huge increase with negligible returns, considering the fact that the new soccer and track complex has yet to open, I have never set foot in the Murphy Center, Vaughn Towers remains a liquor-fueled alumni haven and the number of Event One staff at football games has not noticeably increased.

Just like last fall, every time I enter the stadium, I am practically strip searched. On the other hand, the alumni I tailgate with stroll to their seats without hassle — airplane bottles tucked safely away in their pockets. Students are now paying more than ever to be treated like second class citizens.

I have a few problems with the comments in the editorial:

First, alumni do NOT ‘stroll’ to our seats with no problems. We also have un-necessary lines. I have been going to NC State games for over 30 years and rarely had to wait in lines until the lines’ sudden materialization about four years ago. They have never subsided; and it is miserable for alums to try to get into games on the East Side. (Not as miserable as the students’ experience, but far from “strolling to our seats”).

I always thought that my dissatisfaction was just personal impatience, so seeing some of the comments from other ADULT readers provide me some solace that I am not alone. Whatever happened to the pictures of the Carter-Finley expansion that they used to show us that included new bathrooms and gates around the stadium? They haven’t finished the job!!!!

Secondly, shut up about the ‘fees’. NC State’s athletic fees for students are easily amongst the LOWEST in the country. You pay $200 to support an ACC Athletics program and get FREE TICKETS to all football and basketball games?!?! And you WHINE as opposed to jumping for joy? Just shows how out of touch folks are with the real world.

Even when I was at State I wondered why our fees weren’t bigger. Many schools have mandatory athletics fees and THEN students have to actually BUY student season tickets for games. If you want to complain about student fees, then the most effective way to do so is to compare the fees to those of other ACC, SEC, Big 10 and Big 12 schools. Of course, once the student journalists start actually doing the work instead of whining they will not like what they see — that they have it better than almost everyone in the country.

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'07 Football Fans General NCS Football

57 Responses to Growing Problem With Students Getting Into Football Games (Updated 1pm)

  1. packgrad2000 09/17/2007 at 1:57 PM #

    Statefans-
    Agree for the most part with those updated comments.
    Boknows-
    I don’t know where you were sitting, but I was on the WEST side and the students section was WAY more than 5% full at kickoff. The lower section was way over 100% capacity at kickoff, the upper section looked pretty empty. Here’s why:
    There is no longer assigned seating in the student section, but it’s on a sort of first come seating basis. So what everyone is doing is cramming into the lower section instead of filling the upper section as well. Just take a look on Saturday and you’ll see that the student section (at least the lower half) is way more densely packed than the rest of CF stadium.
    What they ought to do is distribute more student tickets than they have seats. I’m not sure about the legality of this but other school certainly do it. That’s how they have more people at games than stated capacity. Right now there is more demand for tickets among students than there is supply.

  2. waxhaw 09/17/2007 at 3:04 PM #

    Even if they issue students a section and try to evenly distribute them, do you think that will work? If I’m a student, I’m not sitting in the upper corner. I’m going to cram in the lower section with everybody else.

  3. adchappe 09/17/2007 at 3:13 PM #

    Looks really bad on game day when the entire upper deck student section is entirely vacant and the rest of the stadium is packed full of screaming fans. NCSU really needs to improve the efficiency of these lines. And students need to get there earlier… All the empty seats make us look like its Kenan.

  4. PamlicoPack 09/17/2007 at 3:22 PM #

    I am absolutely bewildered by the number of folks reporting intrusive run-ins with stadium security. I used the gates on the NEZ plaza with a full water bottle obviously in the pocket of my shorts and walked right in with no kind of interaction whatsoever with the security people. There was no line, and folks were walking straight in. So if you are having problems elsewhere, may I suggest the entrances that are as far away from the student entrances as possible?

  5. packpigskinfan23 09/17/2007 at 3:28 PM #

    no offense highonlowe… but you dont have a damned clue what your talking about. How long does it take you to get from your car to your seat?

    I have been comming to football games at CF for the past 4 years. For the first 2 years it has been all season tickets- the past 2 a mix of season and student tickets. I left the Fair Grounds lot at 4:45pm. By the time I got in the student line it was at least an hour long. I was lucky enough to make it to my seat right before Andre Brown ran for our first touchdown. Its a simple solution, and we all know it. We have been talking about it forever. Unfortunatly students(or people in general) dont mean shit to this administration.

    I can see why SFN dosnt like the “whining” of the author about the student fees… but serisouly- have you guys seen the new track/soccer/softball complex?! We have these serious hikes in fees… yet NOTHING had changed for the better for US. BoKnows says he has to pay $900+ a year. Good. I am glad you do and am sure your a great State fan and probably an alumni(that makes AT LEAST $50,000 a year)… but I pay $16,000(with an income of about $14,000 a year) in tuition/fees/housing and have to stand in a line every wedsday morning at 7am to make sure I get a parking pass that is half a mile away from the stadium.

  6. BoKnowsNCS71 09/17/2007 at 3:29 PM #

    PackGrad. I’m up in the upper level. And remember this was the first game not this past week’s.

    I’m in Section 22 so it would be 24 (23?) for the students. But as you read in the recent remarks, the students want to be on the lower level first and cram in their with or without tickets (which in crowded games) makes them not want to leave to answer nature’s call. Having assigned seats is what everyone else has to live with, so can they.

    As for seating location, I think the students should have some of the best seats and hopefully we will be adding more seating with the help of all that big money the Technician writer is complaining about.

  7. StateFans 09/17/2007 at 3:57 PM #

    Can someone educate us to understand how these fees are being allocated to the Track/Soccer stadium?

    AGAIN…what does the progress of the track/soccer stadium have to do with the price of tea in China if you are getting access to all of the University’s Athletics facilities and events at a lower price than you can at almost every other institution in America?

  8. Mr O 09/17/2007 at 3:59 PM #

    They need more gates or security people for students. It is absurd students have to get to the stadium 45+ minutes early to get to their seat.

    It is very likely I wouldn’t have bothered going in if this was the case when I was a student especially if the searches are extensive as they are in.

  9. packpigskinfan23 09/17/2007 at 4:08 PM #

    It has nothing to do with the price of tea in China, but it has everything to do with realistic comparisions to what once was and will be at NC State. Screw the other schools. We arent them. How does a fee increase 100%+ and we have nothing to show for it?! I would really like to see some information on what they pay at Carolina, Clemson, VaTech, and Virginia as these are comparable schools. I dont think it much diffrent then us. I could be wrong… but what do they have to do with us? Have you been in Carmichael lately? Its a dungeon. And thats not to mention their reduced hrs they have just started! Did you know that our campus gym dosnt open till 1pm on Saturdays?! The new section of the gym was supposed to be done by now… is it?! nope.

  10. toph23 09/17/2007 at 4:16 PM #

    Getting into games was nothing at all when I was a student 10 years ago. Camp out for your tickets, hand them your tickets, find your seat. Now it seems (and after 9/11 I can kinda see why) it’s much more of a hassle. But a lot of times it seems that a discussion like this spirals into a diatribe on how current students are whiny, spoiled brats who don’t know how good they’ve got it. In some cases, that is true, but in most cases these kids are just like us when we were at State, trying to support their school within an increasingly bad framework of ticketing and security. Looking at the hoops that these kids have to jump through now, I didn’t know how good I had it when I got to spend all weekend camping out in front of Reynolds for football tickets, or better yet camping out all weekend in the snow and ice for front roe basketball tickets in the old barn. Like the original post says, my college experience is most likely going to be a lot more memorable than the experiences under Swofford’s reign. Listening to the stories of our experiences, current State students have a legitimate right to be pissed off, IMHO.

  11. BoKnowsNCS71 09/17/2007 at 4:26 PM #

    Mr. O. Back when we were students, they gave us ticket stubs and assigned seats. As I recall, we could go in any gate (or maybe there were student only gates — hard to recall 1967 to 1971).

    As old Bucky Covington sings. It was a Different Time. At that time, anyone could go to the airport and send you off or wait by the plane gate to see you arrive. No metal detectors.

    Now — we have email tickets and registration. Every person going in has to have their bags and sometimes pockets checked. At the RBC you have to walk through a metal detector. It’s a lot slower for all of us. Typically, the students walk in at the last minutes — I’ve been in the RV lot and watched the throngs arrive about the same time within 15+ minutes kick off.

    We all go through the same checking process. Would be nice if the students could go through other places with a unique ticket stub like a normal fan but they can’t.

    I think some of this policy is in place also becasue the ticketers are also concerned about preventing some students from scalping their tickets for cash when they had no intent to go the game.

  12. Keystone 09/17/2007 at 4:50 PM #

    Just a clarification on the student ticketing system, since there seems to be some confusion. After an online request period and lottery system, you’re assigned a general admission ticket with a unique barcode to enter the game. If you request a ticket and don’t cancel it or use it, you are penalized with regards to future ticket requests. Seating is assigned based on when you enter the gates. The first people to enter the gates have their hands and tickets stamped with 7/8, then South End Zone, then North End Zone, and then 14/15. The seating is sequential based on how many people the event staff has counted entering in comparison to the section capacities, which is why the north end zone is normally empty until close to game time. In theory, the setup is supposed to encourage people to come to the game early so they’ll get good seats, but obviously there are still some people who sneak into whatever section they want.

    Personally, I wouldn’t mind having assigned seats if the online ticket system could allocate them properly. Based on experiences with previous basketball seasons, where individual seats are assigned, that’s asking too much of the ticket system.

  13. highstick 09/17/2007 at 5:05 PM #

    South Carolina issues a student ticket with a seat number and the student also has to show a student ID with that ticket. I’ve never seen a major problem there and they do check bags for alcohol. They do allow 1 sealed bottle of water in a bag.

    When I was at State 63-65 and 70-72, you had to go to Reynolds and pick up the tickets with your student ID. I don’t think there was a seat assignment back then at CF though cause we sat in the student section and on the hill if there wasn’t enough room. Course, we were also carrying in coolers of beer, bottles of liquor, fried chicken….They finally banned the food, but the beer was ok even after I graduated.

  14. mafpack 09/17/2007 at 5:28 PM #

    As a recent grad and a lucky participant in the Student section insanity over the past 4 to 5 years, I did want to point out that not all students can/will get tickets to every game. In fact, I was left without a ticket far more often than my group or individual lottery numbers were picked.

    Once the school went to this current online system, the number of people applying for tickets went up significantly, thus leaving many of us who had previously attended every home game in our earlier years, left sitting at home listening on the radio while some non-fan knuckleheads sneak airplane bottles in for entertainment instead of cheering for the home team.

    In anycase, we now enter/sit with the alumni and regular attending fans which I must say, is a far less stressful event, than having to put up with what the students endure just to attend a game on Saturday afternoon.

    Last note: It would be nice for the CF Staff or police officers to actually arrest/remove drinkers during a game when they are reported. We had all but given up last season after the number of times when CF staff (especially) walked by an obviously drunken group without so much as saying a word. What do we pay them for again anyways?

  15. redfred2 09/17/2007 at 6:37 PM #

    Way off topic, but…

    A friend of mine has twins, a girl and a boy, and they are both very gifted kids who are deciding on college. They’re both in the top percentage of their class and their original choices were between NCSU, UNC, Wake, with the girl also thinking about UCLA (relatives out there), and the boy also likes the Wilmington/Wrightsville beach area around UNCW because of the coast. They have the grades to go pretty much anywhere they choose, and it’s still up in the air, but sorry to say that after three visits neither cared very much for the “campus”, or the atmosphere, at NCSU.

    But they both liked…, well, you know where.

    And THAT my friend, really chaps my hide!!!

  16. wolfman 09/17/2007 at 7:31 PM #

    I agree with tcthdi-…. The current state of the NC State football fan experience sucks in general. When the powers that be punish the many for the crimes of the few, it is the credibility of the powers that be that is diminished, as their leadership ability is then undermined by totalitarianism. It breeds even more distrust, disrespect, and disregard for authority. If hooligans are peeing in the stands, by all means they should be arrested for indecent exposure. Likewise for extreme drunken behavior, with or without said airplane bottles. If people trash the parking lot, there should be a littering ticket waiting for them when they return. Etc., etc. This is still America, d@mn it, and I shouldn’t have to be searched down to my family jewels to get into a game.

  17. gopack968 09/17/2007 at 8:01 PM #

    The lines before kickoff for the Wofford game were the worst I have seen at that time in 10 years. Just before kickoff it was a mess. I entered through the center gate on the East side and they were funneling the entire mob though one row – despite the fact that there were multiple lanes available.

    Some poor schlub has his parking spot with a tailgate tent right in front of the gate. People were literally standing on his truck. Might be a handicap spot. It should not be a spot, period.

    This has been getting worse each season. I park right next to the East student gate. The lines are horrendous. I think there is enough space, just not a well-organized search/ticket process with clear lanes to move through. A little leadership and planning would probably fix the problem quickly. Too bad the NC State AD/sports information office just does not seem to have much of that.

  18. packpigskinfan23 09/17/2007 at 8:26 PM #

    I dont mind the search/ticket process as it makes me feel a little safer in a crazy world we have today… Many students are flying off the wall about having to be patted down. Have they not ever been to a concert before?! Hell, some of the bars downtown pat people down!! What DOES bother me is that they cant let students into any gate… or at least give us ONE MORE!

  19. wolfpack2002 09/17/2007 at 8:33 PM #

    I’ve was in the student wolfpack club 5 years, never had any problems.. Student Wolfpack Club didn’t switch over(and still haven’t) to those lousy printed unassigned seat tickets last year so they may still enter at any gate they wish.. to all those students who bitch all that they’d need to do is join the student wolfpack club ($30 a year which is a deal) and actually support some other sports at our school and they’d not only recieve good seats they wouldn’t have to wait the lines, which I experienced for the first time last weekend as I can still use my student ID even though I’m no longer a student. THey strip search you(even made me remove my hat and untuck my shirt) but didn’t even bother to check the expired date on my friend’s ID when they scanned in our tickets.

    P.S. whomever wrote the opening comments picked out the whining very well. The Technician is mainly considered a joke among my group of friends, the writing is usually terrible and the organization is awful. I know we do not have a journalism school like unx(they have a great student newspaper) but at the same time there really isn’t a good reason I can think of for the articles to suck so much. There are none that make you think and they generally are opinionated and uninformative. so there’s my rant. the end

  20. BoKnowsNCS71 09/17/2007 at 9:10 PM #

    Sounds like the perfect newspaper. Controversy sells papers. Get people whining and voila you’ve got readers. Sounds like our jounalist are catching up with our other area schools.

  21. packpigskinfan23 09/17/2007 at 9:11 PM #

    wp2002-I would be glad to join the WPC but some students work for a living as well so therefore are unable to REALLY support the other sports. I cant work a 30hr week AND go to countless games to get points for Football. And I do reserve my right to bitch.

  22. wolfman 09/17/2007 at 10:57 PM #

    I think we all reserve the right to bitch. Especially concerning our football squad, its home, and the watching of games therein.

  23. noah 09/17/2007 at 11:02 PM #

    It’s very important that they do the pat-down before games. Otherwise, you might hijack the stadium and fly it into the WTC.

  24. James 09/18/2007 at 12:59 AM #

    Food for thought.

  25. BoKnowsNCS71 09/18/2007 at 9:17 AM #

    I hear the cavity search recommendation memo is moving forward quickly.

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