The 2004-05 season for Men’s Basketball marks the first time University of Wisconsin students must enter into a lottery to receive tickets.

Students have until Friday to register on the UW Athletics website (www.uwbadgers.com). Once students register, their names are put into a weighted lottery, which will grant a minimum of 200 tickets per grade level.

The new lottery started in response to a survey conducted by the UW Athletic Department in March that questioned UW students about how they felt ticket distribution should be handled. Basketball ticket distribution was called into question because of the growing popularity the sport has seen in the past two seasons, both of which sold out.

“The new lottery system will reward the loyalty of long-time purchasers of tickets,” Steve Malchow, an associate athletic director, said.

Student responses on the questionnaires led the athletic department to develop the new policy for this year. Many of the complaints were from students. The athletic department listened to its customers and responded in a fair way, Malchow noted.

Students’ class standing corresponds directly with the number of chances they have in receiving tickets.

Incoming students have one lottery chance, sophomores have two, juniors have three and seniors have four. Fifth year students have five chances.

Chris Stark, a UW sophomore, supports the new weighted system because he believes all students will get a fair chance at receiving tickets.

“I don’t have a big problem with it. If you are a senior and you want to go to the game, you should have a better chance then a first year student,” Stark said.

This season will be the first time in which students that held tickets for basketball seasons 2001 through 2003 will be guaranteed tickets for the upcoming season.

“I don’t agree with the fact that after this season, previous ticket holders will be thrown back into the lottery without a better chance of receiving tickets,” UW sophomore Brett Watson said.

Watson added that if the athletic department wants to make improvements as a sport’s popularity grows, they will have trouble finding it if they continue to treat dedicated fans poorly by pushing their requests aside.

Aaron Fitzsimmons, a UW junior, believes the students who are going to great lengths for basketball tickets are the ones that are the deserving ticket holders, not those who simply went online.

“We have a reputation to hold up at UW as hard core fans, so I believe only the craziest and best fans should be the ones to get the seats, not just the upperclassman,” Fitzsimmons said.

Malchow noted the Athletic Department is always open to new ideas from UW students and welcomes their suggestions.

“I think it is important to say that we will definitely review the new policy at the end of the year and make any necessary improvements,” Malchow said.