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An incomplete sports pass
By Seth Owens | Daily Texan Guest Columnist
<script **********"**********"> function goPage(newindex) { currentLocation = getThisPage(); cleanedLocation = ''; // If this is an SHTML request. if (currentLocation.indexOf(".shtml") > -1) { // Detect if this is a request that already has a page specification. if (currentLocation.indexOf("-page") > -1) { cleanedLocation = currentLocation.substring(0, currentLocation.indexOf("-page")) + '.shtml'; } else { cleanedLocation = currentLocation; } // Only add the "-pageX" suffix when the page index is higher than 1. if (newindex != 1) { cleanedLocation = cleanedLocation.substring(0, cleanedLocation.indexOf(".shtml")) + '-page' + newindex + '.shtml'; } } else { // Only add the "-pageX" suffix when the page index is higher than 1. if (newindex != 1) { cleanedLocation = currentLocation + '&page=' + newindex; } else { cleanedLocation = currentLocation; } } document.location = cleanedLocation; } function getThisPage() { currentURL = '' + window.document.location; thispageresult = ''; if (currentURL.indexOf("?page=") > -1) { currentURL = currentURL.substring(0, currentURL.indexOf('?page=')); thispageresult = currentURL; } else if (currentURL.indexOf("&page=") > -1) { currentURL = currentURL.substring(0, currentURL.indexOf('&page=')); thispageresult = currentURL; } else { thispageresult = currentURL; } // Make sure the URL generated by this fuctnion is compatible with mirror image. thispageresult = thispageresult.substring(7, thispageresult.length); thispageresult = thispageresult.substring(thispageresult.indexOf('/')+1, thispageresult.length); thispageresult = basehref + thispageresult; if (thispageresult.indexOf('sourcedomain') > -1) { thispageresult = thispageresult.substring(0, thispageresult.indexOf('?')); } return thispageresult; } </script> On Sept. 9, the largest crowd ever to watch a football game in the state of Texas assembled at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium to witness a titanic clash between the two top ranked teams in the country.
The game between Ohio State and Texas marked the first time since 1950 that a No. 1-ranked opponent visited Austin, and was the most highly anticipated game of the season. Yet largely absent in the sea of more than 89,000 fans at the UT vs. Ohio State game were the very students this university is meant to serve.
In fact, only 2,000 tickets were available to the tens of thousands of students with Longhorn sports passes. Rather than conduct the typical home game draw for student tickets, the University made sports pass holders go through the arduous process of waiting in line for wristbands, followed by more waiting to see which number would be the first wristband called, followed by - you guessed it - more waiting in line to see if by some sort of miracle they would be one of the lucky few to actually get tickets.
Why on earth would the University make thousands of students go through such an infuriating process for such a limited number of tickets when the stadium could easily hold everyone in the student body who has a sports pass?
The obvious answer to this question, of course, is money. The athletic department can make millions more in ticket sales if it gives seats to wealthy alums and other sports fans willing to fork over exorbitant sums instead of providing for college students who paid a measly $70 each to purchase a sports pass. The once-in-a-lifetime match-up of No. 1 vs. No. 2 was too good of a money-making opportunity to pass up. The school saw dollar signs and decided to capitalize as much as possible by giving students a fraction of the seating they normally receive at home games.
But doesn't the athletic department need money? After all, the cost of fielding a football team, maintaining a stadium and paying all of the administrators, coaches and trainers is astronomical. Isn't the University simply trying to recoup all of its expenses?
Sadly, no. The fact of the matter is that UT football is the most profitable football program in the country. According to the U.S. Department of Education in August 2005, UT reported football revenues of $53.2 million and a profit of $38.7 million, and these statistics were taken a year prior to Texas winning the national championship.
Clearly, the football program isn't short on cash. In fact, profit was so substantial the past couple of years that the department decided to renovate the stadium by adding a gigantic $8 million Godzillatron, as well as many other improvements.
Obviously, the athletic department didn't need the massive windfall of profits from the Ohio State game. They simply saw their one-time chance to make even more of a ridiculous profit than usual and seized it, regardless of their action's impact on the common student.
The University of Texas was founded to educate and serve a widely diverse and vibrant student body. The school has a responsibility to provide for the academic, physical and social well-being of its students. By denying many the ability to attend the most important home football game of the year, the school sacrificed the needs of its students for easy money. It reneged on its mission as an academic institution and instead focused on the most financially profitable route.
One can only hope that the next time such an important event as Ohio State vs. Texas occurs, the University will resist the temptation of excessive greed and put the students first.
