New seats shaft students

I can see it now. Michael McNeely is sitting around a round table in Assembly Hall with the rest of his athletics department staff trying to figure out a way to increase revenue taken in at football games for a team that has not been to a bowl game for nearly a decade. All of a sudden, one person asks, "Which group has been more supportive of a sub par team and would still come to the games even if we stick them in the worst part of the stadium?" At once the obvious answer arises -- "the students!"\nFor years the IU student body has provided its blind support to a team that hasn't been worth the amount paid on the bursar bill for season tickets. So how are the faithful rewarded for their religious support? They are stiffed with the north end bleachers so the athletics department they have supported for years may sell their prime seats in the east grandstand for $32 a seat. Meanwhile, the fans who actually cheer for the team, rather than the alumni who show up to earn points towards gaining basketball season tickets and make chat with University administrators, are stuck in the last place one wants to sit.\nFor years the students have been the heart and soul of a football program that hasn't performed even with the great talents of an Antwaan Randle El and Levron Williams. Now they must watch the "talents" of Tommy Jones from the cheap seats. Yes, the price of season tickets have been reduced from previous years, but it's more obvious as to why when the student section and the famed Marching Hundred must strain their eyes to view any action that is occurring in the south end of the stadium. While it is understandable that the athletics program is searching for new ways to make a profit from one of its two moneymaking sports, there is no reason why the students should take the full brunt of a poor decision.\nThe IU football team is the students' football team. The last time the roster was reviewed there were no administrators or athletics department officials taking the field in an effort to lead the Hoosiers to victory. This is the students' school and this is the students' team. Therefore, the students should be rewarded with the finest seats available. Don't punish the student body for poor performances on the gridiron and a lack of attendance. Let's hope that the men's basketball team doesn't have a poor season or the students might find themselves high among the rafters while court and main level seats are sold to alumni and scalpers.