Big Ticket holders who claim football tickets and then fail to scan in for two games will get their ticket revoked for remaining football games without refund, according to rules on the Big Ticket page on the Texas Athletics website.
In April, The Daily Texan reported on changes to the claiming process for the Big Ticket. However, Texas Athletics’ April email to returning UT students did not mention the revocation process for not using two claimed football tickets. It is unclear when the rule was developed. Texas Athletics declined to comment about this policy.
According to the website, if a student claims a ticket for a football game but fails to attend the game one time, they will receive a warning. On the second time, their ability to claim tickets for all remaining home football games will be “revoked, without refund.”
Gabrielle Jabour, a marketing and Plan II senior, said there were times last year she decided at the last minute not to go to a game, especially when they were in the morning.
“There have been times when I woke up exhausted after a late night the night before and decided not to brave the 100+ degree heat when I already had low energy and didn’t feel great,” Jabour said.
However, Jabour said she thinks the process is reasonable and claiming your ticket in advance is beneficial.
“I would be really annoyed if I was planning on going to a game and got ready for it and went all the way to the stadium only to be turned away,” Jabour said. “Knowing you have a ticket in advance helps take away some of the uncertainty that comes with first come, first serve events.”
On the other hand, sociology sophomore Mimo Gorman said she is spontaneous and doesn’t always plan to go to a football game until the last minute.
“There’s a lot of people who go to these games,” said Texas Spirits member Gorman. “You would have to think, ‘Oh, if I claim now, I have to beat all the other people who want to go, too,’ and then you’re more concerned about getting a ticket before everyone else instead of planning if you can go.”
Gorman said she is “on the fence” about getting the Big Ticket again because of the new policy.
Daniela Contreras, a Mexican American and Latino studies sophomore, also said she thinks claiming in advance is good to provide more safety at the stadium.
“There are certain games, I think throughout the football season, that are going to draw more people out,” Contreras said. “And then in order to kind of facilitate a safe environment, not only for the college students, but for the other fans, I think it is good. So they can kind of see how they can prepare ahead of time.”
Jabour said she understands why these new rules have been added but wants transparency from Texas Athletics.
“It would be frustrating to be turned away from a game that was supposedly ‘sold out’ and then later see empty seats in the student section because some students claimed a ticket and never showed up, effectively wasting a seat,” Jabour said. “That being said, I believe Texas Athletics has a responsibility to do a good job making their new claiming policy very clear and advertising them so that all students are aware of the policy.”
