Nonunanimous votes at Kansas University Athletic Corp. board meetings are as rare as Jayhawk teeth.
So it was unusual Friday afternoon when it took a 7-6 vote to raise the student all-season sports ticket price from $100 to $125.
“I feel like we were blindsided,” said Jonathan Ng, the student body president who is also a KUAC board member. “I think it’s ridiculous to raise it 25 percent when there has also been a 25 percent hike in tuition and raises in housing.”
The recommendation came from the board finance committee in connection with establishing 2003 football ticket prices. None of the three students on the KUAC board are members of the finance committee.
General public football ticket prices will remain basically unchanged. Single-game reserved seat tickets will stay at $30, except for the Missouri ($35) and Nebraska ($40) games. Last year KU charged a premium for only the Kansas State game ($45).
A season reserved-seat ticket will climb from last year’s $167 to $182 because there will be seven home games — one more than last fall.
Thus the student all-season ticket, highly coveted because it contains admission to men’s basketball games as well as football, was the only football-related price hike.
Susan Wachter, the athletic department’s chief financial officer, said the student ticket price hadn’t been raised since 1999 when it was increased from $91.
Wachter told the board the $25 increase in the student all-season ticket would add more than $150,000 to the budget — KU sells about 6,300 of the tickets annually. Athletic director Al Bohl noted the need to enhance revenue with the athlete scholarships expected to cost an additional $250,000 to $300,000 next year.
Also, Wachter said, the $125 price tag falls approximately in the middle of what other Big 12 Conference schools charge for student season tickets.
“It’s definitely a good value,” Bohl said.
Ng wasn’t convinced, however.
“It’s a good deal, but good deal is not the issue,” Ng said. “Increasing it by 25 percent is not appropriate. I think it should be done in increments.”
Finally, though, a split KUAC board voted to accept the football ticket package as submitted by the finance committee. Joining Ng and fellow student member Kate Harding in opposition were faculty members Tom Mulinazzi, Bill Tuttle and Don Steeples. The sixth nay vote came from Mary Lee Hummert, KU’s interim vice provost for student support.
Mike Maddox, an alumni board member from Lawrence who voted for the increase, stressed the need for additional revenue.
“This is not something students have to buy,” Maddox said. “This is an option. This is a good deal for them, and it’s important to our finances.”
In other business, the board:
