USC Morning Buzz: Is The Coliseum Student Section Under Attack Next?

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USC students were buzzing Wednesday night after receiving emails from the ticket office that said, “Student Section seats are now limited to 3,000 undergraduates.”

Even USC’s student senate was caught off guard by the announcement. Remember that the student section was 12,000 back in 2005 and reduced to 8,000 in 2006 because the athletic dept. wanted to sell those seats. That led to injuries when more than 9,000 students tried to get into the Nebraska game in 2006 amid poor game management.

Eventually, the student section was increased. But there was a dramatic meeting between students and USC administrators after the Nebraska game. One student said, “I’m a $47,000-a-year donor.”

So, first comes news of the personal-seat licenses and now the second attack on student seats. Pay On!

14 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Is The Coliseum Student Section Under Attack Next?

  1. Pay on! is right! Geez, I never realized it got this bad. I went to USC from 86-90, and I remember huge student sections. I think we had to pay something around fifty dollars or so for admission to ALL home athletic events in ALL the sports, plus a yearbook. Now its all about $$$$. So sad. I think we may have had to pay for the Notre Dame and UCLA home football games, I don’t remember.

  2. I hope this is not true. If so, the administration is really giving the students a raw-deal. I see less and less of a non-profit educational institution and more of a money-hungry organization. A very poor way to treat students and future alumni.

  3. SC has twice the number of administrators of other similar schools its size. This is what happens when there are too many middle managers.

  4. Yep, too many highly paid university admin, not only at USC but about 99% of private and public universities… Taxes and inflation eating away at incomes. LA very, very expensive place to live. School spirit is fine but this is all about bringing in more and more $$$$$ and a lot less about maintaining “amateur” athletics. Trojan fan since ’60 and ’84 alumnus

  5. Not sure about the $47,000-a year donor bit, but I agree with the students. One of the great things about going to SC was the $75 (okay, it was a LONG time ago) student activity book which included seasons’ tickets to all of the games plus the El Rodeo. Limiting the student section would really stink, but with this “Administration,” would not be much of a surprise. Between seat licenses and cutting out the reason for the school from being in the Coliseum, pretty soon there won’t be any need for renovations.

      • In my day, the student activity card was $18 to $20. On campus parking for a semester was $25 when I started, but I think it had moved up to $50 by the time I left. These days SC is much more expensive and many of the facilities (such as on-campus restaurants) are pretty luxurious from what students used to get.

  6. The previous attack on the student section occurred during the prime of the Pete Carroll Era. This is also when the band was relocated from the sidelines to the end zone so the athletic department could sell those seats. It’s also when the athletic department seized all of the USC Associates seats. Longtime Associates season ticket holders were required to also become members of Cardinal & Gold or Committee to keep their seats. This latest seat grab, if true would make more sense if the team was successful and winning (ie there was demand for the seats). This is just another example of how important it is to hire an Athletic Director with experience. Pat Haden’s “on the job training” has negatively affected the overall success of the athletic program.

  7. Is this a joke? USC admin just keeps on getting greedier and greedier in all facets.

  8. TYPICAL trOXan hypocrisy!!!

    Most trOXans are constantly claiming to be Elmer Fudd, millionaire, but ask them for a few bucks and the house looks like a rummage sale, LORD!!!

    It’s for the KIDS, for crissakes!!!

  9. That stadium will be awfully quiet.

    In nearly all but the biggest games, 85% or more of the noise is coming from the student section. Would be a damn shame to shrink them.
    They should worry about selling out the seats they ALREADY have for sale before shrinking the student section…

  10. If this is true and it sticks, I’m done with SC. This will be my last year as a season ticket holder. Coming out of high school I could straight-up careless about football. But as a student it was such a part of the experience and fun that I became a die-hard fan. The team is for the students and alumni – I’d say 50/50. If they forget that they will undermine the whole foundation of the program.

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