As the seasonal debate about the student section’s profane traditional chant picks up, the University of Wisconsin’s Athletic Department is creating the Fan Council for season ticket holders, which they hope will provide an opportunity to improve communication with game day attendees.

UW Athletic Department spokesperson Justin Doherty said the creation of the council will gauge the quality of fans’ experiences at university athletic events by creating a forum for season ticket holders to express interests and ask questions.

The council will consist of 20 members, all of whom will be season ticket holders for a UW sport, Doherty said.

Although members have not yet been selected from a pool of online applicants, UW athletics targeted season ticket holders because they have the most experience in the venues and with the program, he said. Student season ticket holders are also able to apply to sit on the council

“What we hope to achieve is both a greater understanding of our fans and their experiences as well as fans’ greater understanding of the Athletic Department and how things work here and the challenges we face,” Doherty said. “Once you have a dialogue … all that becomes possible.”

Doherty said the Athletic Department is looking to put together a diverse group, including both men and women, life-long and recent fans, alums and non-alums as well as Madison and non-Madison residents.

“Some of the [applications] I’ve seen come in … people have been coming to the games for 10, 20, 30 years so they’re going to have contacts, a historical perspective that they can lend and they’re people that have been coming to the venues for a long time,” Doherty said.

The agenda for the Fan Council has not yet been created, Doherty said, but issues like parking, food, bathrooms and long lines at events could be possible topics for discussion. Conversation will also center on whether fans think they are seeing a good product in the venues and what Athletics can do to make their experiences better, he said.

The “Eat shit, fuck you” student section chant could also be addressed, Doherty said, noting many non-students in the football stadium have expressed they are not happy about the chant.

The fan council is expected to meet four times a year and the first meeting is tentatively set for late November, Doherty said.