MSU students seeking a spot in the Izzone will have a chance to earn tickets this week, but the process is slightly different than in years past.
And it involves camping out during the weekend of “The Cold War” hockey game on Oct. 6 between Michigan and MSU in Spartan Stadium.
It works like this:
Students interested in the men’s basketball cheering section can apply for a lottery Wednesday and Thursday. The Student Alumni Foundation office will accept applications for the 953-member section from 7 to 10 p.m. both days at its office on the third floor of the Union.
About 250 winners’ names will be drawn Thursday night - but the prize comes with a catch.
The Student Alumni Foundation, which runs the Izzone, will also select 100 students as backup winners. To win the tickets, the 250 must camp out the weekend of Oct. 6, in a yet-to-be-determined spot.
But if they leave the line - except for an allotted time-slot for “The Cold War” - or if they have alcohol, the backup winners can also camp out and move into their spots.
Izzone co-director Adam Raak said he didn’t plan on having the camp out during the record-breaking hockey game, but it was hard to predict a game of that magnitude last spring.
“Doing an event like this takes a lot of planning,” Raak said. “We started planning in March and we had to get it approved. We had Oct. 6 set, and we couldn’t go back and change it. We chose the weekend of Oct. 6 because it was a bye week for football.”
Students with a ticket to the hockey game can leave the site 45 minutes before faceoff and are expected to return 30 minutes after the game.
Lottery winners and backup winners will receive an e-mail message Thursday with the location of the camp-out. Campers can bring freestanding tents - without stakes - to the site.
Jarrod Folsom, former Izzone co-director and marketing senior, said he believe this process separates the die-hard fans from the rest.
“We always try to get the best fans,” the five-year member said. “We’ve always tried to earn a way to get into the Izzone.”
The new policy will also hopefully prevent a repeat of last year’s ticket sales. More than 1,000 basketball fans lined up outside the Union to camp out and win tickets, forcing organizers to create a spur-of-the-moment lottery system.
But some students said the thought of having to camp out has drifted them away from the Izzone scene.
“I don’t think that’s very good,” English sophomore Jonathan Speilburg said. “It’s not fair to those who want tickets. Now I probably won’t be getting (Izzone) tickets. I’ll have other things to do that day.”
Four-person group applications are available and one person can apply for a group as long as they have the members names, PID numbers and e-mail addresses.
For more information about the Izzone go to Izzone.com.
