Jaeda PerryIf you ask an N.C. Central University coach or player in any sport whether or not crowd support, especially support from the student body, is key to winning, and you will hear a resounding “yes.”
If that is the case, students are wondering why NCCU made it more difficult to get into games. Athletic games play an important role in building school spirit.
According to students, the difficulty is the fact they have to claim a ticket online before attending any NCCU athletic event inside of McDougald-McLendon Gymnasium or O’Kelly Riddick Stadium.
This year, NCCU Ticket Office started a new process for the students to claim their tickets for the games.
Students do not have to claim a ticket for outdoor NCCU athletic events such as softball, baseball, tennis, or track and field.
In the past, students were able to just scan their Eagle Card at the door, but recently they started to make students claim their tickets on engage ahead of time.
“I like just having to swipe my card to get into the games, makes it way easier,” biomedical science sophomore, Ja’Vae Guinyard said. “One time I was told I had to go to the back because I did not claim my ticket ahead of time, I ended up just leaving (the game).”
If any student did not request a ticket online, they will not be able to get into the game.
They will be asked to step to the side and claim their ticket.
Students can request their ticket by going onto the online boxing office website TicketReturn and log in with their NCCU username and password credentials.
After they have logged in, they are prompted to request a ticket and then the ticket will go onto the students’ Eagle Card.
NCCU students can only request one ticket for themselves.
Upon entrance to the game, NCCU Campus Police will then swipe each student’s card to ensure they have claimed their ticket.
According to the NCCU Ticket Office Assistant Manager Jerry Fairley, they changed the process of claiming a ticket so that it would be easier for the students and easier to keep up track of how many occupants are at the game for safety reason.
“(The new student ticketing process is) easier to track them and easier to give to you guys, so you can just go and claim a ticket, then you can have the ticket and scan it off your phone,” Fairley said. “After that, it hits our system because we have to have a count for the fire marshal department, and another thing, we have to have a count of who is in the building for events.”
However, students disagree that this process is easier.
“TicketReturn is like a double edge sword, in terms of getting into games, because campus does not have the best connection at times, and it is a hassle to remember to go on there just to get a seat being, we originally only needed our eagle card,” NCCU alumnus Jamal Cook said, who graduated in 2019.
Besides the process of claiming a ticket, students have said that the games are really fun and they love the half time shows with the marching bands, cheerleaders, dancers, and the different interactive games that engages the crowd.
“Honestly, I do not go to many games because of this process” mass communication sophomore Alaysia Adams said.
“My freshman year, I went to multiple games but now they expect us to take time out of our busy schedules to claim a ticket. No, I am good. I’d rather just stay in my room.”
