For the first time in more than 10 years, University of Wisconsin student football tickets will be exclusively distributed on game-day using a first-come-first-served basis during the 2005 season.

The change was decided from results of an online survey issued to approximately 14,000 student football ticket holders last week by the Athletic Department. The results show student season football ticket holders will now exchange vouchers before each game at Camp Randall.

Of the approximately 6,000 students who responded, 58.2 percent voted in favor of exchanging vouchers on football game-days upon entering Camp Randall. As a result, the first students who enter the stadium will receive the best seats.

The other choice in the survey, which received 41.8 percent of the vote, would have resulted in students exchanging vouchers once prior to the season, similar to the way basketball tickets are exchanged. Ultimately, students would have held the same seat during the whole season.

Associate Athletic Director of Communications Steve Malchow said the Athletic Department wants students to attend games earlier because student support benefits the team. He added this process has the potential benefit of limiting the amount of drinking prior to games because students will be motivated to arrive earlier for better seats.

In a separate survey conducted at the same time sent to former men’s basketball season ticket holders, students chose to keep the previous season’s system that gave full-season ticket packages to winners of a lottery conducted during fall.

The basketball survey, which was e-mailed to 3,700 student men’s basketball ticket holders, resulted in overwhelming support for full-season ticket package, which won 76.7 percent of the vote. More than 2,000 students responded. The second option, which only received 487 votes, would have split season tickets into partial-ticket packages, allowing tickets to be distributed to a larger amount of interested students.

Malchow said he was surprised about the overwhelming number of students that voted to keep the full-season ticket package. He added that partial-season packages would have allowed more students to see the men’s basketball games.

“There were a number of students who applied last year [for season tickets] that never got to see a game,” Malchow said.

However, he added, the winning choice is easiest for the Athletic Department to implement because they do not have decide how to divide the games equally.

Basketball tickets will continue to be allocated based on a weighted lottery, giving seniors a better chance of receiving them, Malchow added.

Another question asked in the basketball survey, which would have offered a greater chance in the ticket lottery to the approximately 900 students who were awarded tickets last year during the first lottery, but ended up not receiving them due to a lottery error, was opposed by 55.6 percent of voters.

The football survey was mainly the result of concerns that had been broached by several constituencies of UW, including students, about the process of distributing tickets for football games, according to Malchow. He said the growing demand for tickets and the previous distribution process had resulted in people missing classes because they had to wait in line each Wednesday before a game.

Additionally, when weather got colder, students started bringing elements to assist in their camping, which was illegal, Malchow said. After receiving complaints, Malchow said the chancellor’s office requested that the athletic department collect input from various sources about ideas for a better distribution method. After dialogue between the UW Police Department, Dean of Students Office and representatives from the Associated Students of Madison, Malchow said his department was able to compile ideas into a couple of choices for students to vote on.

“A lot of input and discussion was shared,” Malchow said. “I think there was more student representation than people realize.”

UW athletic board member Zach Frey, who worked on the survey, said the collaboration with ASM was favorable because it is a group that represents students.

“ASM is the official voice of the student body,” Frey said. “It was students picking students who were involved in it, not the administration.”