The winners of the 2013 student football ticket lottery were announced Thursday, and unlike last year, tickets are completely sold out.
University Athletic Association assistant athletics director Mark Gajda said the department met its quota of selling 21,500 UF student and band tickets. Last year, the student ticket office had to extend the lottery by two weeks because it had more than 1,000 tickets left over, he said.
Gajda said student season tickets cost $90 for the six home games this year — $15 less than last year. During 2012-2013, the Gators played seven home games.
The Gators’ record could be the reason. In 2011, the football team went 7-6. Football attendance dropped by 1.6 percent from 2011 to 2012, according to Alligator archives. But in 2012, the Gators came back, winning 11 games and losing two.
“We were worried that student tickets wouldn’t sell out again,” Gajda said, “but we are ecstatic to see the excitement displayed by the student body this year.”
UF English senior Josh Olin, 21, was happy Thursday when he won tickets for the fourth year in a row.
“We go to a SEC school,” he said. “How can you not buy tickets for one of UF’s most cherished traditions?”
Olin said even though he wishes football tickets were free for students, like they are at many other schools, paying the $90 will be worth it to attend all games in his last year at UF.
“Buying the lottery was honestly just easier than having to scout out tickets before the games,” Olin said.
Still, other UF students didn’t even apply for the lottery.
Simon Moskovitz, a 19-year-old UF anthropology sophomore, said he thought it was a waste of money.
“I didn’t purchase the lottery last year either, and I still got a ticket to every game for free or just buying one on the street for $10 to $20,” Moskovitz said. “You can always find a friend who can’t attend the game last minute.”
UF law student Matt Michel, 28, didn’t enter the lottery for the first time since 2005.
Michel said having one fewer game this year but paying almost the same price just wasn’t worth it.
Plus, he said, last season was “awful” because every game took place in the afternoon.
“Even in fall it is too hot in Florida to be out in the sun for three hours, and students usually leave at halftime,” Michel said. “And plus, afternoon games in the Swamp are not ginger-friendly. No amount of sunscreen will last me that long.”
