Student Season Ticket Information

[www.athletics.cornell.edu]

Cornell student season tickets to men's ice hockey games will be selected by a lottery method similar to last year's process. Line numbers will be issued from the Athletic Department Ticket Office in Bartels Hall from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. beginning Monday, Sept. 21 through Friday, Sept. 25.

Seat selection will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3. An exact schedule and details will be announced shortly.

Changes to this year's process have been modified and now include more new blocks of tickets for undergraduate students. Each student may purchase one season ticket. The cost for this year's season ticket is $247.

The ticket blocks and order in which seats are selected will be as follows:

Graduate and Professional students: 250 tickets in a specific block (in sections B, D & G).
Undergrads participating in the ticket selection process for the fourth time: 100 tickets.
Undergrads participating in the ticket selection process for the third time: 300 tickets.
Undergrads participating in the ticket selection process for the second time: 400 tickets.
Undergrads participating in the ticket selection process for the first time: 550 tickets.
Students eligible for blocks 2-4 may also enter the block 5 lottery to increase their chances of securing season tickets. Complete details will be announced shortly.

My community service fraternity (APO) has done a charity raffle in The Line for the past 4 years, and when we requested permission to do so again this year, Gene told us that there "won't be a real line this year." It is sad to see the line not happening this year... hopefully it is due to flu prevention and not a permanent change...

apparently Bartels has been tagged as a place to hide people with swine flu

So the whole process is basically on a 10 year rotation? Which puts us 5 years from the next stampede, right?

DeltaOne81
So the whole process is basically on a 10 year rotation? Which puts us 5 years from the next stampede, right?

I did well in the stampede as a freshman: #123. Got me into section B, where I didn't get to again until senior year with pick #51 (line number was #1 both for senior and overall undergrads). I had fun being 800 numbers ahead of my then boyfriend who was trying to convince me to wait with him in front of Kennedy. He may have been a year older, but that didn't make him wiser.

munchkin

DeltaOne81
So the whole process is basically on a 10 year rotation? Which puts us 5 years from the next stampede, right?

I did well in the stampede as a freshman: #123. Got me into section B, where I didn't get to again until senior year with pick #51 (line number was #1 both for senior and overall undergrads). I had fun being 800 numbers ahead of my then boyfriend who was trying to convince me to wait with him in front of Kennedy. He may have been a year older, but that didn't make him wiser.

I sprained my ankle and had to randomly find tickets to every game after being in A for two years. I'll take this over the stampede any day. There really doesn't seem to be a good solution, especially this year. Why I'd definitely normally be a proponent of, "these kids are adults, let them line up for three weeks if they want," that doesn't seem advisable with all the flu concerns and what-not.

General admission for each game. </brokenrecord>

BCrespi
I'd definitely normally be a proponent of, "these kids are adults, let them line up for three weeks if they want," that doesn't seem advisable with all the flu concerns and what-not.

It culls the herd.

Trotsky

BCrespi
I'd definitely normally be a proponent of, "these kids are adults, let them line up for three weeks if they want," that doesn't seem advisable with all the flu concerns and what-not.

It culls the herd.

"There are too many states now. Please eliminate three. I am not a crackpot."

ebilmes
http://www.athletics.cornell.edu/tickets/

Cornell student season tickets to men's ice hockey games will be selected by a lottery method similar to last year's process. Line numbers will be issued from the Athletic Department Ticket Office in Bartels Hall from 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. beginning Monday, Sept. 21 through Friday, Sept. 25.

Seat selection will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3. An exact schedule and details will be announced shortly.

Changes to this year's process have been modified and now include more new blocks of tickets for undergraduate students. Each student may purchase one season ticket. The cost for this year's season ticket is $247.

The ticket blocks and order in which seats are selected will be as follows:

Graduate and Professional students: 250 tickets in a specific block (in sections B, D & G).
Undergrads participating in the ticket selection process for the fourth time: 100 tickets.
Undergrads participating in the ticket selection process for the third time: 300 tickets.
Undergrads participating in the ticket selection process for the second time: 400 tickets.
Undergrads participating in the ticket selection process for the first time: 550 tickets.
Students eligible for blocks 2-4 may also enter the block 5 lottery to increase their chances of securing season tickets. Complete details will be announced shortly.

Anyone know when we'll hear some more about the procedure? There's been a surprising lack of details (and advertising), considering that the line number distribution supposedly starts tomorrow ...

Full details about student season tickets now available:

[cornellbigred.com]

Seat selection will take place in Bartels Hall on Oct. 3. Tickets will be selected as follows:
9:00-10:30 a.m. - Graduate and professional students will choose seats among the 250 assigned graduate seats
9:00-9:30 a.m. - Undergrad Block 1
9:30-11:00 a.m. - Undergrad Block 2
11:00-12:30 p.m. - Undergrad Block 3
12:30-2:30 p.m. - Undergrad Block 4

I went to get my line number yesterday at 1pm. The numbers for this years lottery seem to be down a lot. I went with a group and some of us fell into each of the four undergraduate blocks. Here are the number of student line numbers given out as of 1pm yesterday.

Block 1: 19 of 100
Block 2: 63 of 300
Block 3: 100ish? of 400
Block 4: 414 of 550 (each student in blocks 2 and 3 also get a block 4 number)

I am just curious if anyone knows where they are at as of today, and if they feel like it is even possible for them to sell out this year? I feel like the line hasn't been marketed well at all this year. I remember going my freshman year at the end of the week and getting number 1650ish? They aren't even a quarter of the way there as of yesterday.

We got number 233 in the Grad group as of 1:30 on Thursday.

Apparently Athletics is also concerned about the lack of interest. They've extended the ability to pick up lottery numbers to Monday (for SportsPass holders)...despite the fact that it originally sounded like they were selecting the lottery numbers this weekend:

From an email sent this afternoon:
"Don't forget to pick-up your Cornell men's ice hockey line number!
As a valued Big Red Sports Pass holder, you have until Monday, September 28 at 5:00pm to get a line number for the student season hockey ticket lottery.
Come to the Athletic Ticket Office in Bartels Hall from 10am-5pm on Monday for your LAST CHANCE for a 2009-10 men's ice hockey line number."

PS - For what it's worth, we got some Grad numbers in the high 240s at the end of the day yesterday (Thursday). Looks like Grads are the most interested group!

It's interesting to ponder the reasons for declining popularity of men's hockey over the last 4 years, especially this year with such great possibility for success. It's been said, perhaps best by Mitch Alva, that the increased ticket prices, relative mediocrity of the team's performance in recent years (06/07-07/08), much improved men's basketball team, the camp-out, and the Lynah "nazi-style" crowd-control all had to do with it.

Another important factor, which acts as a feedback, is the relatively less fan dedication and stature of hockey fandom in the general student culture. Indicators of this include less students travelling to away games and showing up at Lynah after the start (much less in time for the newspapers). Importantly, I think there is less buzz about CU hockey in the Daily Sun than there was 4 years ago.

The Lynah Faithful, as the informal cult that it is, relies on introducing Cornell Hockey to the underclassmen each year to perpetuate our traditions. Hopefully this year, enough youngins will be persuaded to try Cornell Hockey for the first time to repopulate the student faithful and fill up Lynah's gloried planks from the glass to the rafters.

From talking to some people last night, here are my estimates for where things were on Friday:

Block 1 - 50
Block 2 - 150
Block 3 - ?
Block 4 - 800

This puts them on pace for around 100-200 fewer line numbers than last year.

In response to imafrshmn, I think lower turnout is due not only to the reasons you mentioned, but probably also the poor economy and the recent success of the basketball team. I think a lot of the students coming in the last couple of years heard a lot more about the Cornell basketball team (winning the Ivy league, on national TV in the NCAA tournament), than they did about the hockey team. But coupled with this general lessened enthusiasm for hockey is a significant drop in the number of fans willing to go to road games. The MSG game will have a large student turnout, but there were hardly any Cornell at students at games like Colgate and Union, which aren't terribly far way. I'm not sure what exactly can be done, aside from a FF appearance this year.

ebilmes
From talking to some people last night, here are my estimates for where things were on Friday:

Block 1 - 50
Block 2 - 150
Block 3 - ?
Block 4 - 800

This puts them on pace for around 100-200 fewer line numbers than last year.

In response to imafrshmn, I think lower turnout is due not only to the reasons you mentioned, but probably also the poor economy and the recent success of the basketball team. I think a lot of the students coming in the last couple of years heard a lot more about the Cornell basketball team (winning the Ivy league, on national TV in the NCAA tournament), than they did about the hockey team. But coupled with this general lessened enthusiasm for hockey is a significant drop in the number of fans willing to go to road games. The MSG game will have a large student turnout, but there were hardly any Cornell at students at games like Colgate and Union, which aren't terribly far way. I'm not sure what exactly can be done, aside from a FF appearance this year.

I think your math is actually a little off. It looks like you added up the numbers from the four blocks, but it would actually make more sense just to look at block 4 for the total number as students in the first three of those blocks are also placed in the final block.

So this indicates that only 800 undergraduates showed up and picked up line numbers. Compared with the stampede when I was a freshman, this is embarrassing. But it would have been nice to be in the block for students having tickets all four years last year instead of my senior number not getting chosen and my friends and I ending up with the last block of tickets in the back row of section B.

Ronald '09

I think your math is actually a little off. It looks like you added up the numbers from the four blocks, but it would actually make more sense just to look at block 4 for the total number as students in the first three of those blocks are also placed in the final block.

No, people in the first two blocks are not picking up a line number for Block 4, so I'm not double counting those first 200.

I imagine another part of the reason fewer numbers are picked up is the new system. There are probably a good number of people who had two numbers last year but only need one this year to get a seat as good or better. If I am right then the good news is that we can expect a higher percentage yield on the numbers.

Itheryn
I imagine another part of the reason fewer numbers are picked up is the new system. There are probably a good number of people who had two numbers last year but only need one this year to get a seat as good or better. If I am right then the good news is that we can expect a higher percentage yield on the numbers.

Yep, I'm hoping that's part of it. Last year, my group of friends ended up with around 50 line numbers from various people, but we only used 15 of them. There was no need for it this year.

We'll see what the numbers look like after tomorrow.

Last year I had three sets of numbers. I wanted to guarantee a good placement in Section B. This year I would've only needed one number for Block 1. Definitely played the numbers game in the past spreading out the possible placements of the start so that I'd never be more than 200th picking.

Updates from this afternoon...

Block 3 - 277
Block 4 - 1217
Grad - 349

It looks like there are more people trying to buy tickets this year than did last year.

Info posted on athletics website, kinda sucks for the grads that the people who didn't get a number before the deadline was extended get to pick first, oh and grads are the only ones with a wait list:

Starting line numbers for student blocks have been drawn. The starting line numbers and order of seat selection is as follows:

Graduate Students

Graduate block: no. 327 picks first, followed sequentially up to 370 and 1-202.
Grad numbers 203-326 will be on a wait list and will be contacted after Oct. 4.

Undergraduate Students

Block one: no. 8 picks first, followed sequentially up to 65 and numbers 1-7.
Block two: no. 112 picks first followed sequentially up to 160 and numbers 1-111.
Block three: no. 143 picks first followed sequentially up to 285 and numbers 1-142.
Block four: 25 students drawn at the "First Years on the Field" event, after which no. 750 picks followed sequentially up to 1322 and numbers 1-749.

Students MUST have their line number form with name printed, signed, dated and have their Cornell ID in order to obtain season tickets. The name on the form must match the ID number entered on the form.

Students can choose tickets for friends with a completed line number form (signature required). The tickets will then be held at the ticket office until the student who owns the tickets presents his/her ID at the office.

Seat selection will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3. in the Ramin Room in Bartels Hall

Athletics Website
Undergraduate Students

Block one: no. 8 picks first, followed sequentially up to 65 and numbers 1-7.
Block two: no. 112 picks first followed sequentially up to 160 and numbers 1-111.
Block three: no. 143 picks first followed sequentially up to 285 and numbers 1-142.
Block four: 25 students drawn at the "First Years on the Field" event, after which no. 750 picks followed sequentially up to 1322 and numbers 1-749.

Does this make sense? Are they giving undergrads 1832 tickets?

6% of the students who signed up for line numbers get screwed, and I'm one of them.

dietlbomb

Athletics Website
Undergraduate Students

Block one: no. 8 picks first, followed sequentially up to 65 and numbers 1-7.
Block two: no. 112 picks first followed sequentially up to 160 and numbers 1-111.
Block three: no. 143 picks first followed sequentially up to 285 and numbers 1-142.
Block four: 25 students drawn at the "First Years on the Field" event, after which no. 750 picks followed sequentially up to 1322 and numbers 1-749.

Does this make sense? Are they giving undergrads 1832 tickets?

No, they are not giving undergrads 1832 seats. Remember most students who picked up line numbers from blocks two and three also picked up numbers for block four. That means nearly 445 students will be eliminated from block four.

JDeafv
Students can choose tickets for friends with a completed line number form (signature required). The tickets will then be held at the ticket office until the student who owns the tickets presents his/her ID at the office.

I'm just a casual observer, but can someone explain what the two sentences above mean?

Thanks.

andyw2100

JDeafv
Students can choose tickets for friends with a completed line number form (signature required). The tickets will then be held at the ticket office until the student who owns the tickets presents his/her ID at the office.

I'm just a casual observer, but can someone explain what the two sentences above mean?

Thanks.

Someone wants to buy hockey tickets but she's out of town on the day she needs to purchase them. She signs the form which she picked up from the ticket office when she received her line number, and her friend takes the form to choose seats on her behalf. Athletics makes a note of which seat was selected, but holds onto the actual tickets. The student returns to town on Monday, and goes to the ticket office with her ID to formally purchase the tickets.

Gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up.

As written, and taken literally, it sounded like someone with a better line number could choose seats for friends with worse line numbers, which didn't make a whole lot of sense.

Sections E and F are general admission this year (no assigned seats). I kind of like the idea ... it will be interesting to see how it works out.

From the ticket office:

Dear Cornell grad student,

If you are receiving this email, your name is on the grad student season hockey ticket line number list. Since undergraduate students did not purchase all of their allotted tickets, more season tickets are being allocated to grad students.

And, since there are still Cornell hockey season tickets available for students in the E/F general admission sections, the Athletic Department is also offering these tickets to spouses of grad students. The season ticket price for spouses is the same $247/season ticket discount price that Cornell students pay. However, payment must be made by cash, check or credit card.

If this message reaches students who have not purchased season tickets and you are interested in purchasing a set, you may still do so by visiting the Athletic Ticket Office in Bartels Hall (M-F / 10am-5pm).

If you have any questions, please call 255-4247 or simply reply to this email.

GO BIG RED!

Sincerely,
Athletic Ticket Office Staff

From the lack of outrage can we infer they did it right this year?

I think I'm just tired of complaining...

JDeafv
Sincerely,
Athletic Ticket Office Staff

Speaking of which...have any other non-students received their season tickets yet? My credit card was charged weeks ago, but I still haven't seen my envelope of joy yet.

RichH
Speaking of which...have any other non-students received their season tickets yet? My credit card was charged weeks ago, but I still haven't seen my envelope of joy yet.

They're on their way this week.

Nope. They charge the card as soon as they process the order, basically.

RichH

JDeafv
Sincerely,
Athletic Ticket Office Staff

Speaking of which...have any other non-students received their season tickets yet? My credit card was charged weeks ago, but I still haven't seen my envelope of joy yet.

Warning: Chick Flick reference below.

Gee Rich, the "envelope of joy" reminds me of the scene from the movie "Fever Pitch" and how excited the Ben character was when the UPS man showed up with his season tickets. Do you really get that happy?

RichH

JDeafv
Sincerely,
Athletic Ticket Office Staff

Speaking of which...have any other non-students received their season tickets yet? My credit card was charged weeks ago, but I still haven't seen my envelope of joy yet.

Mine were in my mailbox when I got home this evening.

DeltaOne81
Nope. They charge the card as soon as they process the order, basically.

My recollection is that in past years they didn't get around to doing that until around now, which always used to make me panic that my renewal had got lost in the mail.

KP '06
Sections E and F are general admission this year (no assigned seats). I kind of like the idea ... it will be interesting to see how it works out.

So does that mean there are no season tickets for E/F because I thought in the past F was general admission but some people still had season tickets for F?

just received mine today

jtwcornell91

DeltaOne81
Nope. They charge the card as soon as they process the order, basically.

My recollection is that in past years they didn't get around to doing that until around now, which always used to make me panic that my renewal had got lost in the mail.

My renewal form disappeared in the mail this year. Gene Nighman Called me a few days after the deadline and wanted to confirm I was not renewing before he released my seats to someone else.

Say what you will about him in how he carries out his other duties, but I think when it comes to just running the ticket office, he's a class act and does a pretty good job.

jtwcornell91

RichH

JDeafv
Sincerely,
Athletic Ticket Office Staff

Speaking of which...have any other non-students received their season tickets yet? My credit card was charged weeks ago, but I still haven't seen my envelope of joy yet.

Mine were in my mailbox when I got home this evening.

Yeah, got mine on Friday. The Postal Service was obviously waiting until I lost patience and asked the question.

Dpperk29
My renewal form disappeared in the mail this year. Gene Nighman Called me a few days after the deadline and wanted to confirm I was not renewing before he released my seats to someone else.

Say what you will about him in how he carries out his other duties, but I think when it comes to just running the ticket office, he's a class act and does a pretty good job.

Except last year when I called in my renewal, my credit card was charged for tickets, and a few weeks later I got a phone message telling me that they never got my renewal request and they were going to release my tickets unless I called them back within a few hours (and when I called back, nobody picked up). If they only go by the paper form, I can see how a mixup can happen, but it still left me angry. Can't say I was upset at Gene himself, though.

RichH

Dpperk29
My renewal form disappeared in the mail this year. Gene Nighman Called me a few days after the deadline and wanted to confirm I was not renewing before he released my seats to someone else.

Say what you will about him in how he carries out his other duties, but I think when it comes to just running the ticket office, he's a class act and does a pretty good job.

Except last year when I called in my renewal, my credit card was charged for tickets, and a few weeks later I got a phone message telling me that they never got my renewal request and they were going to release my tickets unless I called them back within a few hours (and when I called back, nobody picked up). If they only go by the paper form, I can see how a mixup can happen, but it still left me angry. Can't say I was upset at Gene himself, though.

Understandable.

I don't see why they don't have some sort of online renewal setup, seems like taking the US Postal service and people's propensity for forgetting to mail forms out of the loop would be an improvement.

There's an easy solution to this. All they need to do is return to their past practice of mailing out the tickets when the check/application is received from the customer. That's what they did for many many years.

The nervous-nellie types (like me) can mail that check/application back early in the process. If they don't see tickets in their mailbox with 1-2 weeks, they know it's time to call the ticket office about it. This all happens before tickets are made available to others. It's such a simple thing.

As it is now, they receive all applications and don't mail out any tickets until the last minute. At that point, the mistakes have happened.

I had several (heated) discussion with the young fellow who preceded Gene as ticket mgr. He insisted that they don't make mistakes. So, there was nothing to worry about. Idiot!! As I pointed out to him, if he's got people involved in the process, there WILL be mistakes. A given of human nature. BTW, the year after he told me that they don't make mistakes, my ticket application arrived with the wrong name on it....UGH!!! Did I say "IDIOT!!"

Rita
Gee Rich, the "envelope of joy" reminds me of the scene from the movie "Fever Pitch" and how excited the Ben character was when the UPS man showed up with his season tickets. Do you really get that happy?

Never heard of it.

RichH

Rita
Gee Rich, the "envelope of joy" reminds me of the scene from the movie "Fever Pitch" and how excited the Ben character was when the UPS man showed up with his season tickets. Do you really get that happy?

Never heard of it.

I'm not surprised Rich, Fever Pitch (the 2005 version) is probably not on a Yankee Fan's list of top ten movies to see . However, for people who are both hopeless romantics and Red Sox Fans, it is a great flick .

If my copy wasn't packed away in storage, I would probably be watching it as a way to console myself after this afternoon's terrible loss. Instead I will settle for wine and football (and looking in on the Twins).

I'm glad your tickets arrived safely.

Rita
I'm not surprised Rich, Fever Pitch (the 2005 version) is probably not on a Yankee Fan's list of top ten movies to see . However, for people who are both hopeless romantics and Red Sox Fans, it is a great flick .

Surely even a Yankee fan can appreciate "Yankee Dancing."

Rita

RichH

Rita
Gee Rich, the "envelope of joy" reminds me of the scene from the movie "Fever Pitch" and how excited the Ben character was when the UPS man showed up with his season tickets. Do you really get that happy?

Never heard of it.

I'm not surprised Rich, Fever Pitch (the 2005 version) is probably not on a Yankee Fan's list of top ten movies to see . However, for people who are both hopeless romantics and Red Sox Fans, it is a great flick .

If my copy wasn't packed away in storage, I would probably be watching it as a way to console myself after this afternoon's terrible loss. Instead I will settle for wine and football (and looking in on the Twins).

I'm glad your tickets arrived safely.

Okay, how about the joy Steve Martin feels in Bowfinger when late in the movie the Fedex truck finally stops for him?

(Not a good day for the Sox faithful. But we've already had two centuries worth of World Series championships this decade, so life is relatively good. So the only wound is the failure to mail Carlton Fisk's contract on time.)

Yeah mine showed up in the Saturday mail!! LGR