Duke Suspends Student Ticket Policy for Cameron

It was drizzling and chilly outside, but Duke freshman Ian Crawford of Atlanta was pumped up.

Sleeping in a tent with several other Duke students inside Krzyzewskiville, Crawford had survived his first night of inclement weather.

"I think it's pretty awesome," Crawford said Thursday of tenting — a process Duke students go through to secure tickets to the season's premier games, which are North Carolina and Maryland this year.

But while tenting is working for the UNC and Maryland games, Duke’s new validation process to get students into other games is not. The Blue Devils went to the new program this season after students failed to pack Cameron for many home games in recent seasons. The idea was to allow Duke students to sign up on-line and reserve, or “validate,” a spot in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The hope was this would encourage students to come, since some had expressed concern that tenting took too much time.

The dip in attendance drew the attention of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Blue Devils administrators, who don’t want the school’s homecourt advantage to diminish.

But the new system was suspended on Tuesday for the next two home games — Sunday against Virginia and Jan. 19 vs. Clemson — after which a decision will be made by the administration to either scrap it completely or go forward with an alternative plan. If the student sections continue to have empty spots, Duke will consider other options, including giving them to graduate students, employees or even selected charities.

Head line monitor Roberto Bazzani and Mitch Moser, the associate director of athletics, agreed to suspend the system after a Tuesday meeting. Bazzani said there is a chance some of the undergraduate spaces will be given to graduate students or even area charities if student sections aren’t packed for the Virginia and Clemson games.

Bazzani posted the change on the Facebook group "K-Ville 2007/2008" page Wednesday night.

The old line policy will be back in place for the Virginia and Clemson games, said Bazzani, a Duke senior. Basically, students will line up for those games and it’s first-come, first-served.

"It was a couple things," Bazzani said of the decision to suspend the new policy for two games. "First of all, because we had no system of accountability. That was a problem where people would validate and then not show up.

"Then there was another issue where even though we publicized as much as we can, people thought that if they weren't able to validate, that they would not be able to get into the games, which was not the case — we had a walkup line for people who didn't validate.

"We (also) had problems with people not being able to validate in time just because of prior commitments or something and the validation spots going very quickly. It was just a combination stuff."

Duke spokesman Jon Jackson confirmed that the school is watching what happens in the undergraduate section, which seats 1,200 students.

"In no way is the intent to take away seats from the undergraduates,” Jackson said. “Clearly, there's a space limit in Cameron. And we would love that space every single game to be filled with our undergraduate students. So there's no intent to take anything away. The intent is to have every seat filled in here as it should be, and if there are games that we can identify that there will not be — the undergrads won't fill the whole area — all we want to do is try to be in a position that we can fill those seats. That's my understanding of it."

"They're so important to the atmosphere of Cameron and we want them here."

Bazzani said that overall, he was pleased with attendance so far.

“There might be a little bit of emptiness toward the corners, but the main sections are usually pretty full,” Bazzani said. “I only expect it to get better.”

Matt Short, a senior from Concord who has attended games all four of his years, didn't have a huge beef with the system, but he didn't think it was necessary either.

"It's been nice not waiting long, but I usually was with a group of friends anyway (in past seasons)," Short said before December's game against Albany. "It's a bonding experience.

"I've still been able to get into every game. I think it kind of detracts from the previous spirit. People actually went out there for hours on end."

The system was a pain for the administration, Bazzani said, because not all the validated were used. With only 9,314 seats inside Cameron Indoor Stadium and Duke basketball a popular product, the administration could have easily distributed unused student tickets to interested people.

While Moser could not be reached for comment, Bazzani said that the ball is now in the administration's court. If students don't fill up the student section for the Virginia and Clemson games, there is a good chance some of the seats will be taken away from undergrads.

"As a student body, if we do not fill up our seat(s), we have no bargaining power in the fact that the administration is going to make a change (and) say, 'OK, you're not using up all your seats,'" Bazzani said. "'Why should you have all those seats when there's grad students that might want those seats, when there's charities around Durham that we might be able to use those seats for?'"

Bazzani, who agrees with the administration's stance, made an impassioned plea to his fellow students on the Facebook page:

"If we pack Cameron they will probably agree to cancel the (validation) system for the season. There is not much else I can do at this point, so I leave the future of policy in the Crazies' hands.

"It is up to YOU as Duke Students to fill up Cameron at this point. Realize that if we do not fill up seats, seats will be taken away from the students. We really have no more bargaining power at this point."

Members of the ninth-ranked Blue Devils (12-1), who defeated Temple 74-64 Wednesday night, have been pleased with the Cameron Crazies this season.

After the Albany game on Dec. 17, during which some non-students helped fill the student section since it was winter break, junior point guard Greg Paulus clapped toward the section and freshman Taylor King pumped his fist.

According to senior DeMarcus Nelson, "I can remember — I think it was a point in the Wisconsin game (Nov. 27) — (when) it was the loudest I've heard it in Cameron in a while.

"So that was a good thing to have it that early (in the season). And I know it's going to continue to get better."

Yet while TV cameras couldn't spot any holes in the jumping Crazies, Bazzani said that there were small empty spaces in the corners of the section during many games. Not bad for most arenas, but not quite good enough at Cameron, which has sold out 265 consecutive games dating back to 1990.

Students have been given opportunities to voice their reactions to the new system throughout the season. The biggest forum occurred at a meeting on Dec. 8, where Bazzani heard several students displeased with the validation process.

"We had, throughout the whole process, monitored it and tried to see how the students respond, but the town hall meeting was just so students could realize that we are trying to make this as student-friendly as possible and we do value their input," Bazzani said.

"The consensus there was that it needed some tweaking and that in it's current form, it wasn't really working for the students — it was making it a nuisance for the students."

Now, with ACC beginning Sunday and several marquee games on the horizon, it would seem logical for all the student tickets to be used for every game. After all, hundreds of students like Crawford have their tents set up in Krzyzewskiville right outside of Cameron.

Bazzani hopes this is the case. Otherwise, he knows, the Cameron Crazies might lose a few of their members.

"It seems like people are a little bit more excited (now), but we won't really know what happens until we get the numbers from the (upcoming) games," Bazzani said.