New Guidelines for Digital Ticket Pull

General (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh III
President

March 26, 2025

Members of the Aggie Family,

Following safety concerns related to the in-person ticket pull process last fall, I announced plans in December to move toward a digital ticket pull approach for fall 2025 Aggie sporting events and beyond. I’m pleased to share that following diligent work by a task force led by Dr. Vicki Dobiyanski ’03, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, and Cade Coppinger ’25, Student Body President, we have developed new guidelines for a digital ticket pull approach that will be implemented this fall.

I want to thank the task force, composed of staff from the university and 12th Man Foundation, which administers the ticket operations for Aggie sporting events, for their exceptional work in taking feedback from students, technical constraints of an online distribution method and best practices to shape these new guidelines. As you may remember, a student survey led by the Student Government Association in fall 2024 showed that 63% of Texas A&M University Sports Pass holders were in favor of an online ticket pull system.

Sports passes will be on sale through the Howdy portal beginning April 1, 2025. The 12th Man Foundation is currently working with its ticketing software provider to make the necessary changes to the system to be ready for fall ticket pull, and we will work with the 12th Man Foundation to roll out more information to sports pass holders as the fall season approaches. In the meantime, the 12th Man Foundation has developed questions and answers about what students can expect from the digital ticket pull experience, which prioritizes student seniority, helps prevent unauthorized sales and use of tickets by non-students, and leverages best practices in student ticket distribution from our peers. Below are a few of the key components of the revised ticket pull guidelines:

Preserving Access to Tickets Based on Seniority

We are maintaining priority classification by hour, which means students will pull tickets based on the following classifications across all campus locations: 1) seniors (90+ hours) and graduate students; 2) juniors (60+ hours); 3) sophomores (30+ hours); and 4) freshmen (less than 30 hours).

The online ticket pull schedule will vary depending on university holidays but will largely begin 12 days prior to gameday for seniors to nine days out for freshmen. Students will choose a deck preference during the online ticket pull process, and seat assignments will be known once tickets are delivered digitally 24-48 hours before gameday.

Preventing Unauthorized Use of Student Tickets by Non-Students

We are being diligent in ensuring that student tickets are used by students, building in protections to prevent unauthorized sales or transfers of student tickets to non-students. Student tickets may only be transferred to other students, and student sports passes/student tickets are no longer able to be converted to guest tickets. Further, each sports pass holder is limited to only one guest ticket per home game, subject to availability. Guest tickets are non-transferable, and the guest must enter the stadium with the student who purchased the guest ticket.

Supporting Group Ticket Pull

We will continue to offer groups to pull tickets together. However, groups will be limited to pulling a maximum of 10 tickets together, and sports pass holders may link their sports passes during their assigned classification pull time. Guest tickets must be included in the group count of 10 if they are being purchased. Group tickets will now be allocated based on the lowest classification within the group, ensuring ticket access remains prioritized by seniority. For example, if your group includes nine seniors and one junior, ticket allocations will be based on available locations for junior pull day. Additional details on the process to pull tickets with a group will be shared this summer once finalized.

As we shift to a modern ticket distribution approach that prioritizes safety and aligns with our peers, we are confident these changes will return a focus on student tickets being used by their intended recipients, our students, so that they can enjoy incredible Aggie sporting events with fellow Ags. These changes will allow our most senior students to benefit from their years with the university and pull earlier than their more junior counterparts, knowing that they, too, will have that seniority as they progress in their studies.

Again, I want to thank the small, nimble task force that pulled together thoughtful guidelines for online ticket distribution, and I look forward to a strong end to our spring sports and a great 2025-26 year that will usher in this new ticket distribution approach. Students, be sure to get your sports passes when sales open up next week, and, as always…

Gig ’em!

r/mark
General (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh III, President