Although he could not cite specific numbers from last year, CAA President Reid Chaney said the number of bracelets given out this year at the first two distributions is lower than in previous years. About 3,800 bracelets were given out for this year's first distribution on Oct. 27. About 2,800 were given out for Saturday's distribution.
Chaney said more than 1,000 tickets remain after Saturday's distribution.
After the distributions, students can pick up tickets until the next Wednesday. Tickets remaining from the most recent distribution can be picked up from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Wednesday.
Chaney said some tickets for the Indiana game -- part of the Oct. 27 distribution -- were left over after Wednesday and were given back to the Department of Athletics to be sold to the public. But Chaney said students picked up all the tickets for the games against Davidson and Hampton, the other two games in the first distribution.
Chaney attributed the downturn to several factors. He said new rules, like scanning UNC ONE Cards when giving out bracelets, that were put into place this year to curb cheating naturally lower the number of bracelets distributed. "Students got six or seven last year, and now they're only getting one," he said.
He also said the team's first several opponents were not ACC teams and were not nationally known. The first several games of last year's season also were nonconference games.
Chaney said many students expressed concern about missing class registration, which began at 10 a.m. Oct. 27 for juniors and at 10 a.m. Saturday for sophomores. But he said all students had their tickets by 9:30 a.m. both days.
Another reason Chaney cited for the second lackluster distribution was that three of the four games for which tickets were distributed will be played over Winter Break. In addition, Chaney said, the football team's success has diminished student interest in the basketball season.
CAA officials already have plans to bring more students out for the next distribution Dec. 1 for the games against Wake Forest, Virginia and N.C. State.
