Temple ticketing shows disconnect with students

Temple moved their student ticketing online to keep up with the new technology.

BY JOHNNY ZAWISLAK For The

Temple News

Prior to this season, Temple students lined up outside of The Liacouras Center or in front of the ticket office at Lincoln Financial Field and picked up their tickets to sporting events right before game time.

Now, Temple Athletics is embracing a new age of digital sports ticketing. The university converted to a fully digital system for the 2022-23 athletic seasons, eliminating the need for students to get physical copies of tickets.

“Any place you go now, whether it’s a Phillies game or an Eagles game, they don’t print tickets anymore,” said Bob Capewell, assistant athletic director and head of ticket sales at Temple. “We’re trying to keep up with technology and make sure that we’re staying up to date with all the advances in ticketing technology.”

Prior to the switch, fans arrived at games before tipoff and gained entry to the stadium by showing their TUIDs.

Today, students follow a link on

Temple’s website and select which game they want to attend. Students then input their TUID number, email address and phone number to ensure tickets are sent to them.

The digital process allows Temple to track attendance at games more efficiently, something that didn’t exist when students would simply show their student IDs for a printed ticket.

“If there are games like the Villanova or Houston games that are getting close to being sold out, we just make sure that students know they need to go get their tickets early,” Capewell said.

However, some students like Ryan Gaspar, a senior biochemistry major, find the new system to be a hassle, potentially deterring students from attending games.

“You have to log on and it takes a while,” Gaspar said. “Before you could just show your ID right after class and get right in, so I prefer just showing my ID.”

Temple Athletics experienced technical issues early in the season with the new platform. With the new system, the department receives a list of student TUIDs from the Temple University Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Athletics then inputs those IDs into a data- base that’ll grant students free tickets to sporting events.

Not all students had access to the tickets due to an early lack of communication between the two offices.

“Part of the problem was that we had some students that weren’t loaded into the list that we received,” Capewell said. “Anytime you switch to a new process you are going to have a few hiccups.”

The website shut down at one point in the season, forcing Gaspar and his friends to go to the box office in The Liacouras Center, almost making them late for a game, Gaspar said.

For upperclassmen that went to games before the change, the new system was a confusing process. Some weren’t aware of the new ticketing process until November when basketball season began.

Temple tried marketing the new system by sending mass texts that included the link to reserve tickets and adding the link to its website to get the word out, Capewell said.

“I think they could have done a better job with the marketing of the change,” said Elsie Jones, a junior human development and community engagement major. “If my friend didn’t send me the link I would have expected to just show up and show them my ID.”

Students sometimes were forced to wait in long lines to get printed tickets for highly-anticipated games, unaware if any would be available by the time they reached the ticketing window.

Despite the ticketing disconnect between students and Temple Athletics, the department is trying to simplify the process for its students, especially for games when The Liacouras Center or Lincoln Financial Field are expected to be more crowded than usual.

“We definitely appreciate people willing to change and adapt to this new process,” Capewell said. “Especially the people that this isn’t their first year and are used to a different process. Which is probably the hardest for upperclassmen that are used to showing their IDs and getting in. We appreciate those people that are willing to go along with it.” john.zawislak@temple.edu @jzawisbtb

CONTINUED FROM 24 FENCING

“We have such amazing depth on our epee squad, and Sara is a big part of that,” said Temple head coach Jennie Salmon. “The two of us have worked hard all season on her en garde technique, and it’s paid off. She’s a great teammate and a really hard worker.”

Proctor is not afraid of the key bouts and has gained confidence by facing other talented fencers growing up, like her current Temple captain Naomi Ross.

Ross, a fellow epee, was one of the few friends Proctor made on the competitive circuit during her childhood with the Colorado Fencers, a youth fencing club. The pair fenced roughly 50 times within eight years, getting to know each other well during and after bouts across the state and the country.

“It was very individualized,” Ross said. “Maybe your coach is there, maybe your parents are there, but most of the time, you’re on your own. You have a lot of free time. I don’t remember how we met, but I remember talking with her then.”

Early in her career, Proctor fenced against people her own age one week and then 70-year-old men the next because of the chaotic nature of meets in Colorado, creating a sense of disassociation from the sport. The difficulty may have improved her abilities, but hurt her mental wellbeing.

She felt consumed by the nature of the less-popular sport, constantly traveling and fencing, and began wanting to quit the activity that has defined her.

The meets consisted of so many different people of varying skill levels, so when Proctor was younger and less talented than some of her competitors, it led to a weaker passion for fencing.

Proctor’s relationship with Ross was a major factor in her decision to join Temple. After experiencing loneliness due to the independence of the Coloradan fencing scene, Proctor wanted a welcoming atmosphere that valued her as part of a team. In her eyes, Temple provided that.

“One of the things that drew me to Temple was the support you get, whether physically, mentally, academically, or emotionally,” Proctor said. “I knew that was how I’d succeed in college.”

Those days of competing by herself among older fencers are behind Proctor, but the memories serve as a guide for how she treats her teammates. She goes out of her way to promote that same positivity she was shown to foster a positive environment that all her teammates can thrive in.

“I can’t speak for other squads, but this squad is so good at uplifting everyone,” Proctor said. “Everyone is so keyed in to all of their teammates in practices and competitions. Everyone knows, if we are on top of each other, we will be the best team we can be. That’s our goal: work as hard as we can to be the best together.” declan.landis@temple.edu @declanlandis