First, let me say that your "bowl ticket as a part of your season ticket package" plan is just short of brilliant, IMO.....

One question about it, though....is it mandatory that a season ticket holder purchase the "bowl ticket" for $50, or is it voluntary..??????

I have already passed the info about your plan to our ticket office, and I was not surprised to learn that they were already looking at plans like yours.....

Thanks in advance for your answers....

No problem! No, it isn't mandatory for season ticket holders buy bowl tickets. They can't get the $50 dollars back in pure cash, the $50 dollars can be used to purchase bowl tickets if you desire, or put towards UCats, which gives you benefits at UC. Example, I'm a UCats member so I have access to certain UC functions and can scoop up tickets others can't. You can also credit it towards season tickets for next year.

Thanks for the response - let me be a little more precise, tho.....can a season ticket holder opt NOT to pay the $50 when they buy season tix, or is it charged to that person no matter what...???

Thanks again.....

From what i have read, only read, it is not something that they cannot pay up front. They pay the additional 50 up front and when the season ends, they are then given the choices. For the university it is a way of getting patrons to invest in the program one way or another. They give you the opt out at the end so that it is not a forced payment. If nothing else it gives them a investment to earn interest on throughout the season. I dont have a problem with the idea whether looking at it from either side, but again i am not a season ticket holder.

This was included with all reserved seats...all other sections it is not a requirement. I think this represented around half of UC's season tickets this year....Once you do this you are locked in if the team goes to a bowl game. If the ticket price exceeds your deposit you pay the difference, if its less you have options such as applying to the next year or donating them.

bearcatstubb Wrote:This was included with all reserved seats...all other sections it is not a requirement. I think this represented around half of UC's season tickets this year....Once you do this you are locked in if the team goes to a bowl game.

That's what the wording sounding like to me as well (doesn't seem that UC fans were given a choice...but it was still a very smart on UC's part...get a lot of bowl game tix sold even before your first regular season game is played).

From UC website for 2007 season tix:

Another new element of our football ticket plans for 2007 will be the inclusion of a bowl ticket in the seasonal investment. Consistent with our fervent belief in the value of UC football we have incorporated the cost of a bowl ticket in this year's season ticket package. It is important that our program be able to show prospective bowl committees that UC has a ready, willing and able fan base that are committed to the Bearcats.

For 2007, a $50 bowl ticket allowance will be included in the base season ticket price, which would cover the full cost of a non-BCS bowl ticket. In the event that UC advances to one of the BCS games, the difference between the cost of a BCS game ticket and the $50 bowl ticket value per ticket would be billed at a later date to the patron. A special bowl ticket certificate will be mailed with your 2007 season ticket order stating the dollar amount of your bowl ticket credit and the dollars can be used towards this ticket purchase. In the unlikely event of UC not going to a bowl game, the $50 value per ticket would be credited to the patron's season ticket purchase for the following year.

OK, here is a letter from Brian Kelly after the selection of the bowl. Basically you are locked into a ticket. Since the bowl tickets were $30 you have $20 left. You can use your ticket, or donate. The $20 can be used for UCATS, next season's tickets, or additional bowl tickets.

Quote:As you know, you purchased a $50 bowl ticket credit with each season ticket (example: two season tickets = $100 allotted for purchase of bowl tickets). Now that we know the tickets for the bowl are $30 per ticket, you have a $20 credit remaining per seat. We want to let you know how you can apply the remaining credit:



Choice #1 Turn the remaining $20 per seat into additional tickets to the PapaJohns.com Bowl and bring more family or friends to Birmingham (example: 2 season tickets = $40 remaining = bowl ticket price $30 = 1 additional ticket to the game).



Choice #2 If you do not need the additional ticket(s) or you cannot attend the game, your first option is to donate the remaining dollars or the unused tickets to UC Football Bowl Fund. Your contribution will be used to provide tickets to UC students planning on attending the game or to provide opportunities for underprivileged children in the Birmingham area to see the game.



Choice #3 Your final option would be to apply the credit to your 2008 season tickets.

This was a brilliant idea by UC and I definitely expect a lot of programs to do this same thing next year. Many of the donated tickets will be used for student trips to the game, UC staff, family of players and staff, and I am sure some will be donated to the local Birmingham community. As stated around half our season ticket holders got tickets that were part of this plan.

I was also confused about this and thought the whole $50 could be used with either UCATS or as a payment towards next season's tickets. I stand corrected. This did alow us to let bowl committees know that we had sold over 5,000 tickets before we even knew what bowl we were in.

As stubb said, it is only for reserved seats (approximately 5500 seats out of 11000 season tickets).