Students who had 96 or more hours as of summer 2012 are eligible to purchase an SEC championship student ticket, according to an email sent to University of Alabama students who qualified Wednsday.
The University received 16,000 tickets and 1,920 were allocated for students, UA Director of Media Relations Cathy Andreen said. Eighty percent went to undergraduates and 20 percent went to graduate students.
Students who qualify can buy their ticket online or at the Tide Pride ticket office located inside Coleman Coliseum, open 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Students must buy their ticket by 5 p.m. on Friday.
The ticket office won’t officially charge student accounts until after the Iron Bowl on Nov. 24.
The system for allocating the tickets is based off UA earned credit hours, meaning transfer hours were not calculated into total hours. Taylor Jones, a senior majoring in finance, said it makes sense that the system only recognizes UA hours.
“The students that have paid the most money to the University should receive the majority of the tickets,” Jones said.
Although undergraduates received the majority of the tickets, some seniors won’t be making the trip to the Georgia Dome.
Students finishing in four years or graduating early could be at a disadvantage, as students who have been at the University for five or six years are likely to have more hours under their belts.
A fourth-year senior would need to have taken 16 UA hours for all freshman, sophomore and junior semesters to be eligible for a ticket.
Chris Joiner, a senior majoring in biology, has completed 95 UA hours and has 111 hours total. In addition to entering the University with hours from dual enrollment, he took a 12-hour course load at the University for two summers. He only has 3 hours remaining to obtain a biology degree and complete the University Honors program, but he still missed the ticket cut.
Joiner said he’s worked hard to be able to graduate in four years and is disappointed graduating on time means he won’t get to enjoy the championship or certain away games.
“Fifth and sixth year seniors shouldn’t benefit from their circumstances, whether because of failed classes or changed majors,” Joiner said. “They have now have the opportunity to go to the SEC championship and possibly the national championship multiple times. I will leave the capstone knowing I could never go to the SEC championship because somebody else who has already had these opportunities got a ticket.”
With some undergraduates having a better chance of receiving tickets because of their longer time of enrollment, Joiner said the system needs to be re-evaluated to level the playing field. He believes the distribution should be based on hours, but only for a period of four years.
“That gives everyone equal odds, over 4 years, to have these experiences,” Joiner said. “We really do live football here, and it would honestly mean something to me to have an experience, such as an SEC championship, to culminate the final football session here at UA.”
