One shirt. One price. One section.
Come September, MSU students with season football tickets will find themselves unified in one student section.
"It's great for the student section, great for the university and Spartan football in general," said Ben Adler, a general business administration and pre-law sophomore. Adler was deemed the "unofficial leader for a unified student section" by Mark Hollis, the senior associate athletics director. "It makes the student section united and creates a more unified atmosphere, which will hopefully create a more supportive atmosphere for Spartan football."
For the 2007 season, student season tickets will come at a flat rate of $136 — $10 more than this past season — and will include a T-shirt, according to the MSU Athletics Web site. Students can vote on one of three T-shirt designs when they buy their tickets.
Because of time constraints, the university chose three Nike designs for T-shirt possibilities, Adler said. They have "Spartan Football" written on the front and "We Are One" on the back. Adler said students will be able to design shirt options in the future.
Hollis could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Athletics Director Ron Mason and Wendy Brown, assistant athletics director for ticket operations, are out of the office this week.
Previously, students were separated into two groups: the general student section and Corner Blitz — a more costly, closer-to-the-action section that provided perks, including a T-shirt and Student Alumni Foundation card.
"We haven't finalized anything yet," political science sophomore Andrew Bernal said. Bernal was set to be a co-director for Corner Blitz. "We're in the process of getting a contract between SAF and the athletic department. As far as the unified section goes, I think it'll be great."
Bernal said no progress has been made to determine a name for the 2007 season student section's title.
In 2004, the Izzone combined its two separate sections into one, going from 950 to 4,000 members. The basketball student section is still split between upper- and lower-bowl seats. This season, men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo said the section's enthusiasm had decreased in recent years, and some students said it lost its exclusivity.
Adler mentioned games like the University of Michigan showdown Nov. 3 and the 7 p.m. Oct. 13 Indiana University match as opportunities for the new football section to show its unity.
Joey Nowak can be reached at nowakjo2@msu.edu.
