Hawkeye ticket promotion goes to season ticket holders, as intended

IOWA CITY - Winners of a Hawkeye student ticket giveaway of five $8,000 packages toward education expenses have been chosen, and they're all football season ticket holders - as originally intended.

The winning University of Iowa students have received, or soon will receive, the first $4,000 installment of the $8,000 awards to be applied to their tuition or education expenses for the fall and spring semesters. One winner is graduating this winter and will not receive the second installment for the spring, said Rick Klatt, associate athletics director for external relations.

'Just last week, all of the proper transactions were taking place on campus to make sure the tuition was being deposited,” Klatt said. 'One student is still working through paperwork issues … but we have confidence that will be cleared up shortly.”

The five winners, who have not been named publicly, were chosen from among 6,838 UI students entered into the promotion, announced in late July in hopes of increasing student season ticket sales. The giveaway originally was offered only to student season ticket holders, but after concerns emerged over the legalities of such a promotion, the athletic department opened it up to all UI students.

In an email sent Aug. 4 to more than 25,000 enrolled UI students, department officials announced the winners would be randomly selected from a pool of students who bought season tickets and any others who simply notified officials of their interest in being eligible for the drawing.

Of the 6,838 students entered in the promotion, 6,220 were season ticket holders and 618 were not but asked - during the short window of time between the rule change and the Aug. 5 deadline - to have their names entered.

Klatt said the promotion was made possible by longtime donors who wanted to encourage student football attendance.

'And so I'm thrilled that the five winners of the tuition were all season ticket holders,” he said. 'The intent was to reward them for their support of the football team.”

The giveaway included other smaller prizes - like four $1,000 Hy-Vee gift cards, up to $500 in free books for one student, and the opportunity to watch an away game inside the Paul W. Brechler Press Box at Kinnick Stadium. Five of the six winners of the alternative prizes were season ticket holders.

As to whether the promotion increased student season ticket sales, Klatt said he believes it did. Heading into the promotion, sales were hovering around 5,000 - down from 7,300 in 2013 and 10,000 in 2012. Between the promotion's July 28 kickoff and the Aug. 5 deadline, the department sold more than 1,500 student season tickets.

'There's no scientific way of proving all those sales were the result of the promotion,” Klatt said.

But, he said, it definitely generated awareness and warned students of the sales deadline. After Aug. 5, the athletics department began selling off sections of the student section to the general public.

In total, the athletics department this year sold 6,822 student season tickets - down from last year but an improvement from where they could have been, Klatt said. And department officials hope this season and last will be anomalies.

'I do feel good about the fact that we will look back on these two seasons as being exceptions to the rule, and we will start seeing a steady climb,” Klatt said. 'If you're a competitive and entertaining football team, it's likely the students will buy tickets. And we have been incredibly entertaining this season.”

By selling off portions of the student section to the general public, officials have decreased its size from 10,400 seats to 7,200, Klatt said.

As to whether the athletic department plans to try similar ticket sales promotions in the future, Klatt said that hinges on the generosity of donors.

'I think we are always very excited about programs that get students excited about supporting our football team,” Klatt said. 'But maybe we have a great season, and those efforts aren't necessary.”

He acknowledged that today's students have different interests and needs than students 20 years ago, and the athletic department is listening to feedback on how to provide a more appealing product.

'Of course, the most exciting thing is what happens on the football field,” he said.

But the five winners of the $8,000 prizes were thrilled - as were their parents, according to Klatt. The first thing the winning families had to do was meet with a university financial adviser to make sure it was advantageous to take the money - considering any financial aid they might already have.

They also had to meet with an independent attorney to weight tax implications, Klatt said. The families have jumped through those hoops, and many parents have expressed interest in thanking the donors who made the gifts possible.

The university is planning to connect the winners with the donors at an upcoming home Hawkeye game, according to Klatt.

'One mother I talked to was ecstatic,” Klatt said. 'So we are trying to get them together with the donors.”