Socialism 101: University of Michigan Means Tests Sports Tickets

Beginning March 11 the athletic department for the University of Michigan will provide discounted season tickets to low-income students for football, men’s basketball, and hockey games.

Students will need to meet the same criteria used in determining eligibility for Pell Grants. Normal cost for season tickets for football, men’s basketball and hockey tickets in 2015-16 will be $175, $200 and $150 respectively, the Michigan Daily  reported. The tickets under the special-needs program sell for $100, $120 and $90.

Michigan’s financial aid website explained that the tickets were only being offered to the lowest income families, and cannot be enjoyed “for more than 12 full-time semesters.”

The needs-based pricing is the brain child of Student Government President Bobby Dishell. He came up with the idea earlier in the school year when he was working for the Michigan Athletic Department.

“Michigan athletics, it’s something you see so many people rally around,” Dishell explained in a phone interview. “So many people you meet talk about their experience with Michigan athletics, and the prices were very high, extremely high. I kind of realized, why shouldn’t your aid package expand? Why should it not carry over to another University unit?”