It’s no secret that during football season, student tickets are a hot commodity. The demand for a seat to watch college football is nothing if not loud and pressurized. Especially with our “tradition like no other” of running the line, freshmen, sophomores and seniors all want their shot. As a student who has waited in the queue and followed the guidelines set up for ease, it feels like Baylor has made this process more complicated than it needs to be.
It started with the 2020 football season, when tickets for both students and general admission were limited due to COVID-19. Only 500 spots were open each week to run the Baylor Line, and 2,000 general student tickets were spread across the Baylor Line section, the general student section and the berm. At that point in time, there was a to-do list for students, which included where they could get their tickets and what happened after they had been selected. Now that McLane Stadium is back at full capacity, Baylor has increased seating to over 11,000 student tickets, but with an undergraduate enrollment of 14,108 students, where do the other 3,000 students go?
For first-year students, Baylor has split the group among the first three games in order to give them all a chance at running the line. Even though the assignments have already been made, many are questioning whether or not sophomores are included in this grouping, as many didn’t get to participate last season. Many sophomores have expressed how frustrating the 2020 football season was, as many students ran the line multiple times while some were never selected.
As Baylor continues to provide more inclusion for the sophomore class, the ticketing office is emailing sophomores with line tickets for specific games, similar to the first-year student tickets. Even though this is yet another random process, there are mixed feelings as to whether or not it’s helpful because a few students have been notified as early as two weeks prior to their assigned game, while others get an email the week of. Another idea to allow for simplicity is to have the entire sophomore class come back for one home game and run — just like what Baylor did in 2017 for 800 women.
When comparing the Baylor student ticket situation with those of similar universities, such as TCU, it’s difficult to put them on the same level. Since Baylor offers students the opportunity to run across the field, the Baylor Line student section tickets must be in their own category. Due to TCU’s lack thereof, it has the ability to allow students to show up, provide identification and find their seats within designated student sections. With more seating sections at Baylor, the system has become more complex and allows for more frustration. Keeping in mind available space, student interest and ease, Baylor has too many ideas and questions in the air for the majority to understand or keep track of.
Baylor can do a better job at ensuring that everyone who’s eligible to run the line gets the chance to do so. By having better instruction and clear distinction between who is allowed in each student section, Baylor students can have a more enjoyable time finding tickets and watching the game. Students want to be there to cheer on the Bears, and confusing policies shouldn’t stand in the way of that.
