Here's how UNC students feel about the new football ticket distribution process

The days of swiping into Kenan Memorial Stadium with your UNC One Card are long gone. 

The University's new student football ticket system requires students to claim tickets before game days. 

For the first three home games of this season, students could claim tickets through an online portal that opened at 9 a.m., 10 days prior to each game. 

“It was heavily dependent upon who had WiFi access, who was free at 9 a.m. — those types of things — which were not always under people’s control,” said Peyton Collette, co-chairperson of Carolina Fever.

This system was criticized for disadvantaging students with other commitments that prevented them from being online during the morning claim periods.

In response, the University changed its football ticket policy to a lottery system, similar to what is used to acquire basketball tickets. This system began with the upcoming Duke game and will continue for the rest of the season. 

The lottery entry process begins 10 days before each game at 9 a.m., and students are given 48 hours to submit an entry.

Some students view the lottery system as a significant improvement, as it makes the process fairer since winners are randomly selected.

“I think students are always going to apply now just like for basketball, where they are hard-wired to know this is a hot ticket, so I need to make a move to get it,” Collette said.

Still, students like Jamie Krantz, a junior majoring in journalism, think further improvements can be made. Krantz said she would prefer a two-ticket system instead of how lottery winners now only receive one ticket. 

“Definitely the two-ticket system would be a lot better because it must be so hard if you get a ticket, but then none of your friends do,” Krantz said. “You kind of have no choice but to give it up, and it’s so hard to get it in the first place, so it makes a lot more sense to have the same system as basketball.”

Alexis Harper, a sophomore public relations major, agreed that implementing a two-ticket lottery system would improve students’ experiences. 

“I feel like that would make the people that aren’t too happy with this system a little more understanding because at least they can bring a friend,” Harper said.

Krantz also suggested that the system be modified to take graduation year into consideration when awarding tickets. 

“I especially think it must be difficult for those seniors who aren't guaranteed access to some of their last football games,” Krantz said.

The high demand for tickets means many students do not receive tickets in the lottery due to the limited number of seats in the student section. 

“There’s going to be a lot of people that are left out and a lot of them are people that wanted to go to the game, so that’s always unfortunate but that’s the reality,” Collette said. 

Collette said he believes the implementation of the new ticket policies and the resulting ticket exclusivity have contributed to the buzz surrounding the football team this season. 

“If somebody gets a ticket and you don’t, you are just kind of resentful because you are like, ‘Ugh, I wish I could go,’ but I guess at the end of the day we are all supporting Carolina," Harper said. "I guess there are probably more watch parties because so many people aren't getting into the football games, so in a way it makes us more passionate about football because we aren’t able to see the football games.” 

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