MSU has many things to be proud of: the Izzone, the rich alumni base, world-class programs and the list goes on. However, the football student section should not be a source of pride.

When you see most MSU games on television, you see most of the stadium is packed full. I know the first two weeks of the season are tough to judge because of the weather delays, but even in the past few years when the football team won 11 games a year, the student section was rarely full. With the past two teams failing to live up to expectations, it makes it more difficult for students to sit through games when our offense plays poorly. Defense wins championships, but offense sells tickets.

The solution? Make the section smaller.

There are roughly 13,000 seats making up the student section, including the upper deck.

With the elimination of the entire upper deck, the value and the pride in the student section would greatly improve.

Big games against Michigan is the only exceptions I would make for the upper deck to remain a part of the student section.

Just like the Izzone, the football section needs to be exclusive. The section should always be full to capacity. A viewer watching at home shouldn’t look to their TV set and see chunks of the crowd missing, especially if you’re trying to pass off as a top-notch team.

Students don’t realize it’s a privilege to have student tickets — that’s why they prefer to stay at a house or tailgate and stay warm or continue drinking.

If the athletics department would give the entire upper deck to the public, not only could it make more money, but the section would be more appreciated by those using it.

For students, it’s roughly $25 per game. You could easily sell each ticket for more than that, especially for games like Michigan.

Some students just go to the beginning of games because it’s the fun thing to do and leave at halftime. However, if you look at other parts of the stadium, most of the seats are full.

One solution I like is basing student seating on seniority. It would be much better if the upper deck was given to the public and students actually have assigned seats instead of first come, first serve.

There are plenty of dedicated fans in Spartan Nation, and they should be rewarded for their loyalty.

First, make designated areas for each class. The first 20 or so rows would go to seniors, the next 20 would go to juniors, and so on. This obviously might change based on how many students buy tickets each year. However, this would give students another incentive to buy tickets to give them a chance to get front row their senior year.

If students decide to not buy tickets as a freshman but buy them as a junior, they could still have a chance to sit lower through a possible wildcard system.

I understand some might not agree and believe the student section should remain as large as it is.

But what is the point if there are blocks of empty seats? There isn’t a good reason.

Another reason for the empty seats is that students have many other options besides actually attending the games.

Tailgating, watching the game in the comfort of their own home or simply not wanting to stand for two to three hours are just some reasons students decide not to show up. It’s hard to argue, because tailgating puts a wear on you, especially early in the morning for a noon game.

That’s exactly why the section should be smaller — it would weed out the non-loyal fans who might buy the tickets just to sell them and make a profit.

There is no point in giving the upper deck to students who do not appreciate the value of the game, so why not have more tickets to sell to the general public and have a full stadium?