Backlash from students, governor forces U to back off ticket policy

After backlash from students and criticism from Gov. Mark Dayton, the University of Minnesota backed off its policy of "bundling" season tickets to athletic events for students.

The U said in a news release late Friday morning that it was making the change "in response to feedback from a small group of students."

"While we will continue to offer discounts for multiple-sport season-ticket packages, we will revert to the former process of making single-sport season-tickets available at the same time as our multiple-sport season-ticket packages, starting in the 2015-16 school year," the U's statement said.

The announcement came a couple hours after Dayton told U President Eric Kaler that he was "appalled" after reading a Star Tribune story about the way students were required to buy tickets to multiple sports events under the U's season ticket policy for students.

The outcry over the practice has led to a resolution by student government leaders calling the ticket-bundling practice unfair and overpriced.

"The Legislature and I did not provide the additional funding for the University to freeze students' tuitions over two years so that you could invent other ways to increase their costs," Dayton wrote to Kaler.

"I strongly urge you to discontinue and disband this 'bundling' practice and to make it possible for students to again buy season or invididual tickets for the sports or games they want to attend," Dayton said.

Students, however, said it unfairly forced them to buy tickets to sporting events they had no interest in attending.

Anthony Nixon told the Star Tribune that he paid nearly $400 to buy season tickets to attend Gophers hockey games because he was forced to also purchase season football tickets as part of the ticket-bundling package.

It "kind of put a bad taste in my mouth," he said.

Gov. Dayton letter to U president Kaler by RicardoStrib

Photo: The Minnesota Gophers led the football team onto the field before they took on San Jose State at TCF Stadium last month. Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune.