I once heard that the athletic budget at UT was larger than the GDP of a small country. If there is anything bigger than MPA on campus, it is the football team. I remember Vince Young edging into the end zone like it was yesterday, and I still get chills every time I see the replay too. Needless to say at this point, the football team was a big part of why I attended Texas, and if there is any benefit to being a student here, it’s that you get to see a team in the upper echelon of college football royalty play for only a marginal cost.

First though, some thoughts for the week:

Memorial Day

Memorial Day, originally “Decoration Day,” was first celebrated in 1868 to commemorate the Battle of Gettysburg, although the date was intentionally chosen to not coincide with the date of the battle. As time progressed, however, Memorial Day’s scope increased to honor the fallen of all American wars. Congress made the holiday official in 1968 under the Uniform Holidays Bill, which also established Washington’s Birthday and Veterans’ Day as official holidays. As someone who treasures freedom, I could not let this holiday pass without giving a space in my column to those who have died for me to have it, for it takes true courage to put your life on the line for this ideal. (Imagine the lifestyle in which the rights that we consider “unalienable” can be taken away for merely disagreeing with those in authority.) Thus, I leave this paragraph to honor those who gave their lives for my freedom generations later and to support those who answer the call to protect the threat of that freedom when needed. 

The Fifty Best Burgers in Texas

In my very first blog post, I mentioned how I have been trying to complete the AFI Top 100 movies. Well, another one of my lists is based on an article published in Texas Monthly nearly two years ago. This article ranks the fifty best burgers in the state. (Seeing as how most public accounting firms have a mandatory retiring age, I figure I’ll have time to open a restaurant once my auditing days are done.) Perhaps not my healthiest endeavor, it is interesting to see how these different establishments set up their businesses and to see the many different ways there are to just cook a burger. Personally, I find that I am partial to those cooked over a wood flame, but that can be compensated for if the quality of the meat is top notch. Thus, I realize that not all of my readers may like the aforementioned classic films, so hopefully curiosity to try a solid burger would be more relatable…and palatable.

Do you really go around trying different kinds of burgers?

Yes, even if it is just for business purposes. As a business student, I like comparing strategies of different companies to see what works, what doesn’t, and why. For example, what qualities distinguish Wal-Mart and Whole Foods even though both fundamentally sell groceries? Similarly, it is interesting to see a chain like Jack-in-the-Box with an incredibly diverse menu that extends to tacos and egg rolls succeed at the same time that the local Mighty Fine thrives on having a menu that nearly consists of only its burgers. Thus, for me it’s not only to taste awesome food, but it’s to see what simplicity can do for metrics such as throughput, quality, training costs, economies of scale, etc. 

But you really want to hear about how to get football tickets… 

How Do I Get Football Tickets?

Getting football tickets for you is a relatively simple process. Getting football tickets for the family is not. Since my family is 600 miles away, I admit that I do not have a lot of experience getting four tickets for the season; however, I have never seen the option to get that many tickets as a student anyways, so if that is what you are hoping for, you are probably going to have to go through the regular ticket process. If you are a student, keep reading:

(1) Buy the LASP During Registration

The LASP is the Longhorn All-Sports Package. This gives you access to all UT sporting events. Buy this, as this will also give you access to volleyball, basketball, baseball, etc. Football is the highest demanded sport on the UT campus, and there are not enough football tickets for the demand. An LASP will let you wait in line for tickets at the beginning of the week. At this point, I strongly recommend completing step two: 

(2) Buy the Reserved Student Season Ticket

This can be purchased at texasboxoffice.com only after you purchase an LASP and set up an account on the website. This will give you the ability to print your reserved seats at home and guarantee you a seat for the game. This is definitely the way to go. 

If you can go to the game with just the LASP, then why purchase the reserved seat?

Excellent question. My freshman year, I only had the LASP. I had morning classes and had to send my student ID with a friend to wait in line for tickets, and then as my friends had classes, we would rotate who would hold the spot in line. Finally, the Longhorns played the nationally-ranked TCU Horned Frogs, and the game sold out. Being an avid fan, there was no way I was going to miss a game, so I found a ticket and bought one. The cost of the ticket was about the price of the student season ticket that I failed to purchase. Thus, especially when Texas is having a great year, it is very cost and time efficient (as well as less risky, since your school ID is involved) to just buy your reserved ticket—with your group—if you intend on attending all of the football games. Overall, the LASP is about $75 and the student season ticket is about another $85 or so (the price changes), so effectively you are paying about $20 a game to watch one of the best programs in the history of the sport.

I’m a basketball fan—is there a season ticket for basketball too?

No, but you don’t need one. The athletic department offers the Stampede Pass for basketball, which only allows you to enter the Frank Erwin Center 30 minutes before regular LASP holders. As I said, football is the highest-demanded sport, so getting into most basketball games is usually not a problem. The only basketball games that get really packed are the Kansas and Texas A&M games; otherwise, you can usually just walk into most basketball games twenty minutes before tip-off and be fine. Thus, I personally do not see that much added value in purchasing the ~$75 Stampede Pass, which basically only helps me get in earlier to two games. The way I see it is that if I have to show up earlier to use the Stampede Pass, I’ll be there anyway.

Final Thoughts

Make no doubt about it—Texas Football is definitely a big part of campus culture. Whether we are at the top of the BCS or not, the program is definitely college football royalty, and having the opportunity to attend these games has definitely been one of my favorite aspects of my first four years here. Seeing and hearing over a hundred thousand fans jeer the Aggies or Stand For Defense or sing “The Eyes of Texas” are unquestionably experiences too remarkable to pass up during your studies here. Hook ‘em!