A new year, a new season, and a new ticket policy. This year students desiring to attend Hornet football games will need a ticket. The new system is an attempt to better monitor student attendance.

The Athletic Department decided last spring that it needed to find out how many students were really attending its major sporting events.

Starting this year all students will be required to have a ticket in hand to get through the gate to their seat. The new ticket system replaces the old method where students simply showed their OneCard at the gate to gain admission.

The Athletic Department hopes the new ticket system will not only cut down on the number of non-students using expired or false OneCards, but also provide them with data that will help them attract more students to the games.

While some things have changed, at least the price is the same. Students can get their free ticket at a number of locations around campus.

The best bet is to plan ahead and get your ticket at the box office located in the University Union Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

This beats the other option of waiting in line at one of the five box office windows on game day. The box office will open at the normal time, four hours prior to the start of the game.

Knowing the indolent nature of its student body, the Athletic Department has come up with a third option to ease its student body into the new system.

Tickets will be available at a student only gate, where students with a valid OneCard can have their card swiped and then be issued a ticket on the spot.

The location of the gate has yet to be determined. Officials in the Athletic Department said the student-only gate would most likely be at either gate three or four.