Fired UGA employees keep tickets, as fans pay and wait

<p>Some former University of Georgia athletic department employees _ including those who are fired _ are allowed to keep their free season tickets to Bulldog football games.</p><p>Boosters and alumni must donate at least $1,500 to even have the right to buy tickets to the games.</p><p>At least nine fired employees, including former cheerleading coach Marilou Braswell, who is suing the university, receive complimentary season tickets to football games for life. More than 30 athletic department retirees also get free tickets, some for as many as 10 seats per season.</p><p>The tickets are a perk of employment at the athletics association. Active employees get free season tickets and extra tickets to some games. Employees who retire, resign or are fired after at least 10 years with the department keep their season passes. The number of seats they get depends on the position they held and how long they worked for the university.</p><p>"That's a policy that's been long-standing," said Athletics Director Damon Evans.</p><p>UGA President Michael Adams said he was not aware of the policy, but that it's one that may need to be revised.</p><p>"If current policies provide lifetime tickets to individuals who have been terminated, then I believe that policy needs to be reviewed by the athletic board," Adams said in a written statement from Greenville, S.C., where he is attending the annual meeting of Southeastern Conference university presidents.</p><p>Braswell was fired in August after reading a statement to her team explaining why a Jewish cheerleader, who had filed a religious discrimination complaint against her, had been put on the squad without trying out.</p><p>In September, Braswell filed a federal suit against UGA, claiming her religious freedom and civil rights were violated by her termination. She gets four football tickets.</p><p>Bulldog fans who contributed money to the athletic association this winter in hopes of getting football tickets should find out by summer whether they have a chance at seats, said Tim Cearley, who runs the ticket office.</p><p>Since 1993, UGA football fans have had to pay for the opportunity to buy tickets.</p><p>Since demand exceeds supply, no one gets seats by simply contributing the minimum required amounts. Athletics department officials sell the best seats to the highest contributors and work their way down.</p><p>This year, they estimate they'll sell out of seats by the time they reach the donors who have given no less than $1,500.</p><p>Alumnus Skippy Nguyen, who graduated with a master's degree in 2003, made a $1,000 contribution this year thinking that would be enough to qualify to buy tickets.</p><p>"I'll get shafted again this year," said Nguyen, who has bought tickets from scalpers for all but one home game since he graduated. "They're making it too expensive for the average fan to go."</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x28650f4)</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/3/150259