Waiting is the hardest part

Right around Gary Barta's first day on the job in August 2006, Iowa sold out of season football tickets.

"Obviously, as the new AD, I was thrilled and impressed," Barta said Tuesday.

Less than four years -- and an 11-2 Orange Bowl season -- later, the UI has its first waiting list.

"That's great, it's amazing. It's a credit to (football coach) Kirk Ferentz and our student-athletes," Barta said. "It's fun to have the problem, now we're just trying to get as many fans served as we can."

Monday, Iowa ticket manager Pam Finke announced the school has 7,300 ticket requests and only 4,500 available tickets for "new customers," which the UI considers as fans who didn't buy season tickets in 2009.

The plan is to offer two-game packages and try to accomodate as many fans as possible.

The UI athletics ticket office will contact each new customer during the next two weeks. The contact will provide a status of their order and, where applicable, the invitation to purchase tickets to two home games.

Fans will be offered tickets to either Iowa's non-conference game against Eastern Illinois (Sept. 4) or Ball State (Sept. 25), and, most likely, the Hawkeyes' date with Big Ten Conference rival Michigan State (Oct. 30). Fans who accept the UI's offer to purchase the two-game package will be given one year's season ticket credit in the UI's ticket priority points system.

“That point has real value. It puts them officially into our priority points system and, among other things, provides them priority over those fans that are not in the priority points system when it comes to tickets to bowl games and season tickets in future seasons,” Finke said.

Fans that decline an offer for a two-game package will be added to the waiting list for Iowa football tickets the UI Athletics Ticket Office is now managing. They will be the first fans offered single-game tickets if single-game tickets become available for this season's home games.

The UI expects to make a definitive announcement on the availability of single-game tickets and the date on which those would go on sale in mid to late June.

“We don't have enough seats in the stadium to sell season tickets to everyone who wants them, so the goal will be to offer most of our new season ticket applicants the opportunity to have two visits to Kinnick Stadium next fall,” Finke said.

Fans on the waiting list will also automatically receive a season ticket application next year. If you're interested in being added to the ticket office's waiting list, call the UI Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800 IA-HAWKS.

The Gazette threw the waiting list question out on Twitter. Most of the responses where "good problem to have," but also fit into "should've bought season tickets before this year's crush."

"I'm on the waiting list. If I don't get them, I'm not going to be mad," Steve Albers wrote. "Should have bought before, but $$ allowed it this year."

"I don't understand what people are upset about," Nick Zimmerman wrote. "You applied for tickets. If they don't have any, you don't get them."

"Not too happy," @FightForIowa wrote. "I'll probably write a rant about it tonight. It just doesn't make sense. But I'll still take my 2 tickets."

"We're trying to do it the right way, but no matter what we do, if someone isn't able to purchase season tickets at the end, will they be discourage? Probably," Barta asked. "Our hope is you stay with us, get on that waiting list and when openings do occur in the future, you'll be the first one to get the opportunity.

"It's a good opportunity for us, but hopefully we create a culture and environment where people get on the waiting list and when tickets do become available, they're able to get on board."

A few Iowa Twitter fans suggested a points system similar to the one Oklahoma uses. Fans are awarded points for buying season tickets in other sports. You might've heard about the attendance problem for the Iowa men's basketball team.

Barta said he isn't there yet with basketball and would like to see how attendance goes this winter with first-year coach Fran McCaffery in the fold.