By Hadley Barndollar
Staff Writer
UNH’s 2015 Homecoming celebration will not be as heavy in alumni this year, but not because of a lack of interest.
Non-student homecoming tickets are completely sold out for Saturday’s tailgate and football game against Elon University, producing an uproar both on and off campus. Unlike years past, non-student tickets were limited due to construction of the new stadium, and sold out before many alumni were aware they were on sale. Tickets were sold through Ticketmaster for $30.
UNH Athletics announced Tuesday that the game is sold out to the general public, with no non-student tickets remaining.
“I think some non-student tickets should have been held by the box office until the time student tickets went on sale,” said UNH senior Tyler Romano. Student tickets, which are unlimited, went on sale at the Whittemore Center box office on Monday morning.
The UNH class of 2015 Facebook page filled with hundreds of pleas from recent grads, some looking to pay over $100 for non-student tickets. Some alumni took to Craigslist in their quests for tickets, as well. Many purchased tailgating parking passes, without knowing they would need a separate ticket.
The infamous UNH Confessions page sported a post about university alumni having priority for tickets.
“There honestly has to be a new policy that UNH students get the first homecoming tickets and alumni get priority over New Hampshire fans for guest tickets,” the post read. “It seems like half of the alumni that want to go can’t and to me that’s just messed up.”
Sam Gagnon, a graduate student, wasn’t made aware that he didn’t qualify for student tickets.
“I understand there are less tickets available because of the construction, but some people just want to tailgate and see their friends,” Gagnon said. “As an alumnus, I want to hang out with my friends I graduated with and haven’t seen in awhile. I’m a graduate student so I thought I would be able to get a student ticket and I waited in line for a while. Apparently graduate students have to get non-student tickets because we don’t pay an athletic fee, which was never communicated.”
Gagnon believes the number of alumni without student tickets will lead to more people sneaking into the tailgate.
For some, homecoming is a special event. Senior Leah Santone is used to celebrating the occasion with her father.
“My dad came with me to the game last year and we had a wonderful time,” Santone said. “This year I didn’t know tickets would be in such short supply, or else I would’ve tried to get them sooner. We’re both really disappointed.”
The Whittemore Center box office was not authorized to release specific information about ticket numbers.
