On Aug. 30, FSU had its first home game of the season against the University of Alabama. They ultimately won 31-17, but that wasn’t the only battle of the weekend. Getting tickets for the Alabama game, and every game after, has been a fight for almost every FSU student.
With the new stadium renovations, there are fewer seats than last year, decreasing the number of student tickets alongside it. The renovations dropped the total number of seats below 70,000, angering students and fans alike.
Before this seat reduction, student tickets were already almost impossible to get, and even though the football team wasn’t its strongest last year, it was still upsetting to hundreds of people. Now this year, with FSU defeating Alabama opening weekend in mind, people are stressed. So, how does this raffle really work? Is it truly random, or can you increase your chances with certain actions?
The Spear It Rewards program is something all students are enrolled in once they get to FSU. It’s a reward system for attending sporting events at FSU. Attending games isn’t the only way to get points; students also get points based on what year they are.
Seniors and graduate students get 1000 points, juniors get 750 points, sophomores get 500 points, and first years get 250 points. There are also additional points students can get through various things. If someone joins Seminole Student Boosters, they’re awarded 500 points. If they arrive early or stay late, they get 25 points per event, and select events even have a prize wheel offering anything from 25 to 100 points.
Attending football games will get you 300 points, non-conference basketball matchups and Spear It Reward games are 200 points, and all other basketball games are 100. Baseball has similar rules, with specific Spear It Reward games worth 200 points while all others are 100. Softball, on the other hand, awards 300 points per Spear It Reward game, while all other games are 150 points.
Smaller sports provide opportunities for points as well. Volleyball and soccer offer 100-200 points, depending on the game. Cross country, swim and dive, track and field, and beach volleyball award 200 points per meet. Women’s and Men’s Tennis offer 150-300 points.
Now, the more points you have, the more likely you are to get a football ticket. However, don’t be fooled into thinking you’ll get all your points this year and let them carry over for the next, so you can attend all home games with no worries. Only 25% of your points roll over into next year, with the rest reaching their expiration date.
These expiring points don’t have to go to waste, though! The Spear It Rewards program presents items that you can “buy” with your points. Items such as posters, magnets, etc., are available on their website so you can successfully use all your points year after year.
Before that happens, the points create your entry into the weighted lottery that FSU Athletics emails about every Tuesday. A weighted lottery means the more points you have, the more likely you are to get a student ticket.
The number of entries each student gets into the lottery is based on a few things, starting with their year. First years get one entry, sophomores get two, juniors get three, and seniors/grad students get four. Then, student boosters get an additional 2 entries. As for all your Spear It Reward points, for every 250 FanMaker points, a student gets 1 entry.
If you’re a junior with 1,000 points, you’d get six total entries into the weighted lottery. This system may not seem like it’s been working recently, with hundreds of students missing out on both the Alabama and East Texas games, but it’s the system FSU has in place, and they emphasize that it’s used every Tuesday.
Now, how do you check your point amount? Well, Spear It Rewards has an app you can download to sign up, check your points, and see what’s for “sale” right now. You can log in using your student email, and once you’re in, you have access to a whole new side of FSU Athletics. This app is also what I use to check-in to unticketed sporting events, such as volleyball and cross country.
There are rumors all around campus that those in Greek life or athletics have a higher chance at getting tickets, but based on the Spear It Rewards website, it’s truly random. Athletes may have a higher chance simply because they attend all their games and can check in beforehand to rack up points for their own sport, but the raffle truly is based solely on your points.
Go out to other games! Watch the tennis team play and the baseball team pitch. Women’s volleyball defeated Auburn on Sept. 14 in an incredibly entertaining back-and-forth match, and cross country has a meet on Sept. 26, which would be very exciting to watch live.
If you’re hoping to get student tickets to any other home football game, especially FSU vs. Miami, and want to increase your chances, then I’d recommend attending any of the sporting events and cheering on your school!
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