Nothing is better than Saturday. A day free from immediate work and lacking the looming responsibilities of Monday. A day made even more perfect every fall.

This fall, Saturdays will be more exciting than ever for many students. GT Athletics sold a record-breaking 7,000 student tickets. Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field will be more packed than ever this year with the student section selling out. For the first time in Tech history, students had to scramble for a ticket and in the mad dash many students were left empty-handed.  

For the lucky 7,000, soon Saturdays will be more than a day for relaxing but a day starting early and ending late. A day full of hyperactivity around campus. Students will wake up early, not for 8 a.m. classes, but for something far more exciting. Cars will be backed up for miles around campus, desperate for a way to maneuver around the sea of pedestrians aloof to everything but the best route to get to the next tailgating destination. Saturdays will be for college football. 

For the unlucky, Saturdays will be filled hearing the cheers from outside the stadium and watching the Yellow Jackets take the field on a screen from their couch.

Even students with a ticket have been left disappointed. The game where  the Jackets play in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, colloquially referred to as the “Benz Game,” moved to a lottery system instead of being included in the student season ticket package this year — a stark departure from previous years.

Many students, including myself, view the Benz Game as the peak of the season. It is the largest stage we get to see our Jackets play on. Nothing beats the pre-game energy outside the stadium, with students decked out in their Saturday best. The Benz Game is a holiday, a day of observance for the students here. 

The changes around the Benz Game are complex. Previous Athletics Director J. Batt decided to move this year’s “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate” game to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to raise $10 million for the GT Athletics’ “Full Steam Ahead” initiative. The move makes sense financially and will enhance our athletics program, but the lack of a guaranteed student section feels like a punch in the gut. 

The spirit of the student section is not just fun for those in the stands — it contributes to gameplay and even the future of Tech football. Head Coach Brent Key recognizes how vital student attendance is, highlighting its value ahead of tomorrow’s home game against Gardner-Webb. 

“Your impact goes beyond one game. It’s a HUGE part of the reason why so many of the nation’s top recruits are choosing to come be a part of our program and our Institute,” said Key.

While Key’s message notes the necessity of a dynamic student section on gameday, it neglects that many students will not be able to share in the collective excitement in the stadium. Claiming the need for a lively student section while denying students tickets and making grand changes to the student experience makes the overwhelming feeling of discontent within the student body is completely understandable. 

A group of people particularly dissatisfied with this year’s student season tickets are members of Greek life. A large part of the student season ticket experience is the blocking system. Blocking allows students to sit with areas in the stands, or “blocks,” during every game. These blocks are most often used by the Interfraternity Council (IFC), with students both involved and not involved in Greek life choosing to sit in these blocks to ensure good seating with people they know. However, blocking is only available in the North Endzone of the stadium. The set of season tickets allocated for this section sold out only 11 days after tickets went on sale, several weeks before students going through formal Collegiate Panhellenic Council (CPC) and IFC recruitment were members of their respective organizations. This effectively blocked out the new members of Greek life from being able participate in a time-honored tradition.  

Taking away those extra perks while expecting students to pay more is cause for frustration. To see the true scope of the change, simply compare  the 2025 season to the 2023 season. Since 2023, the cost of the student season ticket rose from $65 to $75. The 2023 ticket included seven games, including the Benz Game and our rivalry game here in Bobby Dodd against that school in Athens. The $10 increase in price this year comes with one less game and no guarantee for students to be able to cheer on their team in Mercedes-Benz Stadium against our rival. 

Though these changes were publicized and largely motivated by financial changes, it is still painful to students. These sudden changes feel like a betrayal by GT Athletics to their most loyal fans, the students. We are the people who pack  Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field any given Saturday. We rattle the bleachers with stomps and jumps after a 1st down. We scream and cheer loud enough to be heard by pedestrians beyond campus on game day.  We fill the stands in oppressive Atlanta heat in September, the downpours of October and the nightly freezes in November. GT Athletics should have fought harder for their biggest supporters.