SG lengthens purchase period for Tennessee trip
Students have only purchased 64 out of the 100 tickets available for Halloween weekend's Carolina Convoy to the Tennessee game.
Carolina Convoy is an SG initiative that provides students a ticket, charter bus transportation, lunch, a T-shirt and a "goodie bag" to one away game each year for a fee of $100.
This SG program, which is funded by $2,500 in student activity fees plus the amount students pay in tickets, has experienced problems selling tickets since it launched in 2007. In 2009, low ticket sales forced SG to cancel one of the two buses used for Carolina Convoy. In 2010, Carolina Convoy successfully sold all of its tickets to the Auburn game.
But Colleen Ryan, secretary of Student Senate's athletics committee, said last year's secretary of athletics bought tickets for his friends to ensure that they sold out.
"In the past we've had a lot of problems selling 100 tickets," Ryan said. "Most of the time it takes us a solid three days, and it might not even sell out by then, so we weren't fully surprised we didn't sell 100 tickets."
Athletics Chairman Travis Horne said that 64 students is enough to fill two buses even in the event that SG doesn't sell more tickets before gameday and that there would be no "big ramifications" if more weren't sold. Ryan said the holiday weekend impacted this year's lower ticket sales.
"We've talked to a lot of students, and a majority of them say it's Halloween weekend, so we've started to realize that the date is kind of our biggest issue here," Ryan said. "However, based on the schedule, this was our best bet for an away game based on mileage. Starkville (for Mississippi State) was too far."
Ryan also said that the Tennessee game is less anticipated than last year's bout with Auburn. Horne and Ryan said they plan to continue Carolina Convoy in the future, and they expressed interest in traveling to Baton Rogue if USC plays Louisiana State University next season. They plan to better advertise to freshmen through University 101 classes and other initiatives.
Students can now pay for Carolina Convoy tickets with only checks at the Campus Life Center on the second floor of the Russell House.
This is the first year that students will gain a loyalty point for attending the game.