Ohio State fans sing "Hang On Sloopy" in the third quarter of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Oregon Jan. 1 in Pasadena. The Buckeyes defeated the Ducks 41-21. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor

Ohio State fans sing “Hang On Sloopy” in the third quarter of the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against Oregon Jan. 1 in Pasadena. The Buckeyes defeated the Ducks 41-21. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor

Ohio State is home to nearly 65,000 graduate and undergraduate students.

Over 3,400 Buckeyes applied for student tickets to see this year’s National Championship at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which accommodates more than 70,000 fans. 

In the end, just 500 student tickets were allocated.

These varied figures have caused confusion and dissatisfaction among many Buckeyes, leaving them to wonder about the percentage of applicants versus those who actually received student tickets. 

According to an email students received Jan. 13, which notified them about the rejection of their student ticket requests, the disparity between the amount of applications and the amount of allotted tickets was due to demand exceeding supply. 

The lottery adhered to the same system as Ohio State’s regular-season student ticket packages, in which class ranks and credit hours give students a higher chance to receive tickets. 

Based on the 3,400-to-500 ratio provided in the Jan. 13 email, just under 15% of Buckeyes who wanted student tickets were selected to receive them. For many, this reality has been a tough pill to swallow.

Gabriella Pedro, a second-year in finance and accounting, was one of many students who applied for tickets. 

Pedro, who has a strong passion for Buckeye football, said her father cheered for Ohio State in the past. She was naturally disappointed following the rejection of her request, an outcome that sparked conversations with her family and friends.

“I started talking about it with a few of my friends and even my dad, who’s an Ohio State alumni,” Pedro said. “He was actually a cheerleader when he went to school here. He grew up watching the Ohio State Buckeyes his whole life, and then on the sidelines.”

Pedro also expressed her dissatisfaction with the number of student tickets allocated to Ohio State.

“We were talking, and it just didn’t make a whole lot of sense for a college football national championship game [to have] 500 students from one of the college teams, so I was really disappointed.” 

David Laurence, a third-year in sports industry, agreed and said he felt the designated ticket amount was quite low for such a large university. 

“Only 500 [student] tickets given out to a school with a population of over 60,000 is just ridiculous to me,” Laurence said. 

Like many others, Laurence said he decided to search for affordable tickets elsewhere, but to his dismay, found the prices to be unfeasible. 

“I went to see the regular-priced tickets and saw that they were two grand,” Laurence said. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m not paying for that.’”

Pedro said she followed the same course of action. After searching on multiple platforms, she came to the conclusion that none of the listed prices were budget-friendly for her or the average college student.

“On Ticketmaster, tickets were going from anywhere between $1,500 and $3,000,” Pedro said. “So, it just became unreasonable, especially for a college student. I mean, those numbers aren’t close to the ballpark range of the original $215 student ticket price.” 

Some students, however, were lucky enough to beat the odds and receive a student ticket in the lottery. 

Ram de Vera, a second-year aviation engineering major, said he was originally thrilled upon seeing the email confirming he received a student ticket.

“I was happy,” de Vera said. “I thought that I was going to be able to go to the [CFP] National Championship Game with my friends. That’s what I thought was going to happen.” 

After chatting with his friends who also applied, de Vera said his excitement quickly shifted as others’ rejection emails piled in. 

“Then my friends started getting rejection letters, and I started asking people I wasn’t planning to go with, and they all got rejection letters,” de Vera said. “As far as I know, of the 20 people I talked to, I was the only one that got a ticket. I was honestly pretty sad; I knew that I didn’t know anybody going.” 

Soon after, de Vera said he chose to sell his ticket, which made him feel as though he was passing on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

“I guess I was upset at myself for having to sell the ticket, and [I felt] guilt for selling the ticket, but I couldn’t also afford a hotel by myself,” de Vera said. “So, I just felt bad that I was the one that got the ticket, and I was the one that had to tell everybody I got the ticket and [that] I sold it. So, I bought everybody dinner.” 

Notably, these three students agreed that there should be changes in how student tickets are distributed for College Football Playoff games. 

Pedro said she believes that participating universities and the CFP itself should put more emphasis on sending students to playoff games. 

“Just remembering that the [Buckeye] spirit lies in the student body, and bringing them to that kind of stage and into the stadium should be really important going forward,” Pedro said. 

Laurence said he thinks more students should be able to experience such a high-profile matchup, adding that students are the heart and soul of the college football environment. 

“I think it also speaks to the atmosphere,” Laurence said. “Students are the most passionate fans and just make the atmosphere better. I think it’s just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience a national championship, especially for a student, and I think more students should be able to witness it.”