Ejections, unpaid tuition to result in revoked football season passes
Weeks before its first test at Williams-Brice Stadium, USC's new student ticketing system has raised plenty of questions.
Chief among them: How does it work?
Student Life set out to answer that question Tuesday with a pair of forums in the Russell House Theater that addressed two groups of students — one that received tickets this summer, another that didn't.
Got one? Students will have to transfer their lower-bowl ticket to their CarolinaCard or print out their upper-deck ticket by 5 p.m. the Thursday before a Saturday game, according to Adrienne White, student ticketing coordinator.
Fail to, and the seat will be up for grabs in a ticket exchange program.
"There is no printer in the box office," White said. "If you don't print your (upper-deck) tickets at home, you will be refused at the gate."
White also said students in the lower deck will get wristbands, and those caught there without them will be ejected from the game and barred from attending any more USC athletic events that year.
"I do have a forgiving heart, but I have to have a tough heart as well," White said. "There's a box of tissues in my office. I do make students cry."
The same goes for students who aren't in good standing with the university.
Anna Edwards, director of student services, stressed that students must have their tuition and fees paid to avoid losing their tickets, though they will get a "grace period" of seven additional days.
"I don't want students to lose their student tickets because of problems and delays at the registrar's office," Edwards said. "We want to give you a little flexibility during that hectic week."
But for those who weren't so lucky in the lottery, all hope is not lost.
Tickets that aren't transferred or printed will be up for grabs on Ticketmaster's student ticket exchange Web page.
Any tickets that were offered to the public will be made available to students as well, Edwards said, adding that she didn't know of any other school in the Southeastern Conference that provided students with such an opportunity.
Those tickets can be claimed at any point during the week, Edwards said.
That information will be listed in an email to the student body on Aug. 31.
The forums appeared to be popular, all but filling the theater for the roughly 20-minute sessions. Students said they clarified confusion about how the system would work.
"I thought it (the forum) was very helpful," said Robert Kraft, a first-year business student. "I had no idea how to do it before."
But how it handles its first real test — for students and the system — remains to be seen.
South Carolina's first home game with the new system will be against East Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 8 at 12:21 p.m.