As a student at Clemson, I greatly appreciate the effort to change the football ticket system. The policy last year just could not remain. I personally remember the Auburn game where I was able to get two tickets, while students who were sitting next me could not get one.

Overall, 10,200 tickets are available to enrolled students, which is the same as previous years. However, the new student ticket policy now has three options.

The first is to buy a season ticket at a price of $210 for upper deck and $280 for lower deck. There are up to 3,600 tickets available for this option.

As students we appreciate this option because it is reassuring to know every home game you will have a ticket. It is a tough pill to swallow as a student to pay for tickets since we already pay so much, and since some of us are already paying to be IPTAY members to receive seniority in the ticket lottery.

However, this option does have the right idea of making sure the people who really want to be at Clemson football games can be.

The second option is free single-game ticket lottery. This option is similar to the previous year’s system. If a student does not want to pay the money for a season ticket, they can test their luck in the lottery. If the lottery system has improved from the past years, and you are a member of IPTAY, I would say this is the best option.

If this system truly goes by seniority, then the chances for a senior or IPTAY member receiving a ticket are high. I believe it is better to pay for IPTAY and receive seniority then for the season tickets. Also IPTAY points stay with you for the rest of your life.

There are 5,100 tickets available for option 2. The winners of these tickets will be announced before the season begins.

The third option is an old school option of receiving a ticket the day of the game. The option is for any tickets that are left over and on its own has 1,500 tickets. It is a first come first served basis, and goes back to the option of when students had to camp out for tickets.

Many miss this tradition and miss how the true football fans were getting tickets and would show up to games by camping outside for tickets. This option may not have anyone camping outside for days, but it does give those who do not enter the lottery or pay for a season ticket the opportunity to still be able to attend games.

An important note is that all these options still allow everyone to sit with their friends. The email sent to students stated, “Free tickets are available in every student section so regardless of how you receive your ticket, you have the opportunity to sit with your friends. Tickets are fully transferable, enabling students to freely exchange tickets with other students to keep friends together.”

To help, all tickets on the hill are free, which will hopefully help pack the hill, again, on game days.

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