This week it became clear that the current student ticket distribution plan for home football games is flawed.  This became evident due to an unprecedented demand for tickets to see our nationally ranked football team compete against Virginia Tech, a game when the campus is also hosting family weekend, which resulted in an even greater ticket demand.

In reviewing the current student ticketing process, staff indicated that the procedures in place

were a  result of collaboration with student leaders in earlier years.  That said, it is time to convene again a collaborative leadership group to discuss ticket distribution procedures that will best protect our own students.  Senior Associate Athletics Director Chris Kingston will lead in coordinating this initiative once the home season has been completed.  We anticipate that our students will lead in this important discussion.

In the meantime, as your new  director of athletics,  I have directed that the following occur:

All available seats above and beyond the normal student ticket distribution of 9,250 seats will be set aside for students.   On average, this will likely result in an additional 1,200-2,000 tickets being distributed exclusively to State students,  as long as the demand is present.   Under that scenario, none of the 1,200-2,000 seats would be taken by guest tickets, until all student requests had been honored. This requires that athletics forego the sale of these tickets and also bring in temporary bleachers to Carter Finley for the games against Boston College, Florida State and Wake Forest, a cost of approximately $200,000 to the athletics program. Our marketing staff will provide details about the distribution of these additional tickets on the student ticket website.

My hope is that the collaborative efforts following this season, among the athletics staff, students, IFC leadership, Student Affairs, Campus Police, Student Wolfpack Club and Student Government will result in a system that protects, first and foremost, the opportunity for as many students as possible at North Carolina State Universityto receive football tickets.

While the current ticket system might have worked well in past years, it no longer represents our commitment for ensuring that “students should come first.”

In the Spirit of the Pack,

Deborah A. Yow

Director of Athletics