AMES – Ahead of Wednesday’s men’s basketball game against Kansas, the usual buzz was in the air. Like other conference rivalries, students were eager to cheer on their Cyclones and bring Hilton Magic to life.
As the team continues to climb in the rankings, ticket demand has increased significantly. Amidst the chaos of high demand, ticket scams are at an all-time high on the Iowa State campus.
“[Students] had to attend a certain number of games before the holiday break to be eligible for tickets and that plan was communicated ahead of the start of the season,” Iowa State Senior Associate Athletic Director Nick Joos said in an email to the Daily.
Reliable student tickets
Iowa State Athletics sells student ticket packages at the beginning of every school year. A limited number of students can opt-in to receive an all-sports combo package for $300 or a football-only package for $175. When students neglect to attend these events, some search to sell tickets for a profit.
Without a reliable marketplace, these tickets are sold in a variety of ways. Some are distributed on the university’s Snapchat stories, and others are transferred person-to-person through the Cyclone Sports app.
Ryan Barnes, a freshman studying mechanical engineering, has seen students scammed out of tickets firsthand.
“I’ve seen some students try to pass screenshots off as real tickets,” Barnes said. “Everyone who has resold tickets knows you scan barcodes, not screenshots. I’ve also seen some fake profiles marketing weird-looking websites that advertise student ticket sales, but they all look like scams.”
Another notable social media platform, Facebook, has undergone scrutiny from students and alumni alike. According to Barnes, several groups have fallen victim to these scams.
“People need to be vigilant about who they buy from,” Barnes said. “I think it’s less about the price and more about the source. That’s just how things go nowadays.”
Some students, however, don’t mind the risks that come with the popular ticket sale methods. They are drawn to the familiarity of Snapchat, trust their peers and question the need for an additional marketplace.
“I think having something like that would only cause more buzz,” Barnes said. “Trusting other people with tickets is hard enough, so trusting an actual platform might be suspicious to some people.”
“Student” tickets
Outside of basic ticket scams, other students are concerned about opposing fans entering the student section. One such incident at the Marquette game left J.D. Hunt, a freshman studying communications, scratching his head.
“Some of my friends and I went to the Marquette game in December, and there was a girl in a bright blue Marquette jersey,” Hunt said. “It didn’t bother me, but I was confused about how it happened. It just made no sense.”
Students who attend games at Hilton Coliseum and Jack Trice Stadium have taken notice of the lack of security, adding that members of staff neglect to check student IDs.
“I’m sure it happens everywhere,” Hunt said. “I’m all for them being there if they’re cool, but it’s another thing if they’re obnoxious.”
Inside of Hilton Coliseum, a limited number of student seats are available. Signs posted outside of the stadium state that ‘a ticket does not guarantee you entry.’ In simple terms, if you have a student ticket, show up early.
“I don’t understand why they do that,” Barnes said. “I don’t know if it’s a money thing, but I would be mad if I bought a legitimate ticket from someone and got told I couldn’t get in. At that point, it’s a waste of money to buy a ticket in the first place.”
Last year’s games against Iowa and Kansas saw thousands of students turned away at the gates and denied entry into Hilton Coliseum entirely.
Offering a solution
One platform in particular, SeatStock, has caught students’ attention after being picked up by “OneBuzzISU” on Instagram. The platform offers a marketplace to buy, sell, and bid exclusively on student tickets.
“We got the idea for SeatStock after some of our friends were scammed out of tickets at the University of Iowa,” SeatStock representative Brady Stein said. “Our platform markets partnerships with reputable outlets, so people know they can trust us.”
Unlike traditional tickets, student tickets are oftentimes not available for resale on bigger platforms. Tickets released for the Big 12 Championship game against Arizona State were not eligible for resale, which left many students who bought tickets unable to sell them.
“That sort of thing happened to one of my friends,” Hunt said. “He missed the initial window to buy a student ticket and paid someone else for one but never actually received the ticket. He got lucky because one of our group members got sick and handed his over, but he was still out the $100 that he paid.”
Platforms like SeatStock, however, are met with their fair share of skepticism. Some students hesitate to trust SeatStock because of the platform’s marketing to students.
“I got added by a bunch of sketchy Snapchat accounts that told me to sell my tickets on SeatStock,” Barnes said. “It didn’t look reliable, so I didn’t trust it. I think platforms like that need to find better ways to market instead of using fake profiles; it’s a little weird.”
Regardless of the skepticism, SeatStock claims to have made 1,000+ sales at the University of Iowa and 50+ at Iowa State, even branching out to universities such as Kansas, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Illinois.
“I went to a high school of around 5,000,” Stein said. “I graduated with people that go to Kentucky, Illinois and several other schools, and they help us out significantly. Having those connections helps us build credibility and establish our brand.”
It’s about who you know
According to Hunt and Barnes, It’s about who you know. When purchasing tickets from a fellow student, it’s vital to ask if anybody is familiar with the person selling the tickets.
“Some people don’t even sell tickets. They just give them away if they’re going to waste,” Hunt said. “I think it’s better that way, honestly. I understand the want to make money, but I think it’s unnecessary to some degree.”
Barnes advises not to buy tickets at a price higher than you’re comfortable with and to ensure that the person is a trusted student.
“I don’t see the appeal of spending upwards of $100 on a ticket, even as someone that sells from time to time,” Barnes said. “For that price, it’s not worth waiting in the cold. I would just watch the game at home.”
Iowa State’s next home game is set for the first day of the spring semester. The Cyclones host UCF at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
