The Cost of Being a Fan

BYU has always had a unique environment, full of “peculiar people”. And in most things, our “in the world but not of the world” attitude has served us well. But there is one issue in which I think BYU would be wise to follow the crowd. The issue that I have with BYU is the price of sporting events, or rather that there is any price tag attached to our cougar pride at all. I would like to express my opinion to the Athletics department at BYU because I feel like they are the most likely to be make a change in the cost of sporting events. My relationship to the Athletic department is not very direct, but as a student who attends athletic events, my opinion is important. Throughout my exploration of this topic, I would like to learn where the revenue from ticket sales goes. If revenue is a necessary money maker that goes to support the athletes, is there any other way those funds can be raised? What are the reasons behind keeping student ticket prices as they are? Why haven’t we followed the example of other universities and eliminated the cost for students to attend athletic events? By addressing this topic, I would like to learn the reasons behind our current system and if possible, how to make a change. I would be able to reach my audience through genres such as a letter to the head of the Athletics department or an editorial comment in the Daily Universe. I would also be able to raise awareness on this issue through the use of new media such as BYU sports fan groups on facebook and student blogs. I would also use catchy one-liners and puns such as: Help us enrich our college experience by eliminating the cost of sporting events (lame, I know but I couldn’t resist).