On Jan. 1, 2004, the Wolverines will, most
likely, take the field in Pasadena, California, and for the first
time since 1997, the Michigan football team will compete in the
Rose Bowl. Unfortunately, the Michigan section at the Rose Bowl
will primarily be alumni; the Athletic Department is giving first
priority for tickets to its Victors Club, a group for alumni who
donate over $100 a year to the Athletic Department. For this
University, with its large, successful graduate base and rich,
historic athletic tradition, donating alumni are in no short
supply, so many alumni will be in line for tickets.

All this adds up to trouble for students who want to go to the
Rose Bowl. After the alumni suck up a good portion of the tickets
the University receives, if the remaining supply exceeds student
demand, student season-ticket holders will have to win in a ticket
lottery to see who gets to smell the roses in California. This is a
marked departure from 1998, when the athletic department guaranteed
all students would be able to get tickets. Back then, the
department announced it would sell alumni tickets to students if it
couldn’t find enough student tickets to meet demand.

Students should have priority in ticketing for bowl games. While
alumni provide financial backing to the athletic program, students
have the most immediate relationship with the University and the
team. The players themselves are not merely connected to the
student body: they are part of the student body; student fans share
classes, professors and friends with the athletes. This connection
is far more direct and personal than any relationship between rich
donating alumni and the team. Additionally, current students are
more connected to the actual University than graduates. While
alumni might wear maize and blue, donate thousands of dollars and
visit frequently, most cannot say their life revolves around the
University. Students have the greatest interest in watching their
peers and school succeed, so they should have first priority in
getting tickets.

Unfortunately, pleasing donors is a great way to ensure future
gifts, so a system that rewards the Victors Club is probably here
to stay. Therefore, we should change the raffle system so that
students with higher class standing receive benefits and
preferences. Seniors have never attended a BCS bowl game as
University students, and they will never have another chance. All
students should get a chance to see at least one important
post-season game while they are here. Consequently, ticketing order
should be based on class standing.

A chance to watch Michigan play in the Rose Bowl is not
something that happens all time. This is the first time Michigan
has earned a big-time bowl appearance since the triumphant national
championship season, and countless students hope to attend the game
in Pasadena. Sadly, due to a flawed ticketing system, ESPN and the
flower shop will be as close as many get to the Tournament of
Roses.