University students who expected easy access to the BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Ariz., are frustrated by what they see as an unfair system of championship ticket distribution.
The bowl system allotted the University 17,000 tickets for everyone from season ticket holders to longtime athletic fund donors, and 1,000 of them were set aside specifically for students. The Office of Student Affairs was given the task of distributing the tickets to students, which chose to sell them to Azumano Travel, a third party local travel agency in Portland. The agency bundled the tickets to the game with other travel amenities such as airfare, lodging and ground transportation to the stadium, rendering the cheapest ticket package at $450, more than twice their face value cost of $200. Unfortunately for lethargic ticket purchasers, the cheapest packages sold out very quickly, as well as the second-cheapest packages at $1,135.
Student Affairs said it chose to let a travel agency handle the sales in light of reports of counterfeit tickets, lack of last-minute hotel room vacancies and transportation problems realized in the aftermath of University students’ trek to last year’s Rose Bowl.
“Everything is being done to protect students,” University Dean of Students Paul Shang said. “The individual ticket notion was something we didn’t have.”
Bundling the tickets also assured students of return flights, minimizing the chance of missed classes and ensuring that fans return the day after the game.
“(Azumano Travel) had access to these kinds of resources,” Shang said, referring to its connections with transportation and lodging companies.
University sophomore Blake Reed was incensed at the University for allowing such a considerable markup, which he said forced many students to forfeit going to the big game. By the time Reed was ready to buy his ticket, all of the travel agency’s ticket-only packages were sold out, forcing him to capitulate and buy a ticket that includes a plane ticket and other amenities he had already purchased.
“As a student of the University of Oregon, I should not have to be forced to support a third party,” Reed said. “For a University that teaches business ethics in class, they do not practice good business ethics.”
Shang was sympathetic to the unfortunate experiences of students like Reed, but also believes bundling the tickets through Azumano was done in the best interests of the students.
“I understand that some people kind of rolled the dice here,” Shang said. “But we tried to do everything we could do to address their individual concerns.”

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