It’s not a value play, so it’s not worth it in a transactional sense. However, it’s generally a good cause and if you feel so inclined for charitable reasons, no reason not to join.
That's a tough question and gets tougher every year and there are lots and lots of opinions.
this helps tremendously 1, 2 and 3 are VERY important to us
The benefits are good but don’t expect at the $25k level to have it made.
I was under the impression that the Magill donation had to be above and beyond Hartman donation. In other words, the $5k per year for the Magill donation would not satisfy the Hartman donation for those years. I could be wrong on that, but that's the way the Magill information reads. Here is the statement from the website: Established in 2015, the Magill Society recognizes those that make commitments of $25,000 and above, separate from their Hartman Fund donations, to the University of Georgia Athletics Association.
This is correct. So you still pay your minimums for your seat donations and tickets, then you would pay the Magill donation on top of that number with the minimum being 25k pledged over 5 years. So if it’s costs you 5k in seats and 3400 for the season tickets..you’d pay $8400 plus the 5k Magill for the next 5 years.
correct, I can always lower my Hartman donation as well, I believe the minimum is $600.
When that reseating occurs it will be a real moment of decision for a lot of families. We have had generally the same seats since the 90s and have many memories made with family/friends over the years. If all of a sudden 121/120 is somehow 300? after supporting this program for 4 decades in time/money/emotion is trumped by a stroke of a check alone then I'll probably check out. I'm 46 years old and in my 22nd year of being a public educator. I watched the changes in 2016.... the last SEC title game we got tickets to was 2012 through the UGAA. Been shut out on playoff games and most marquis road games since as well. Has it lessened my fandom? Not completely and not yet. If we lose our seats in Sanford as well (which I fully expect to happen) might be a time to reassess priorities.
Honestly you’ve got to assume the re-seating is coming, and I’m definitely someone who will lose in that shuffle. I don’t love that but I completely understand why it’s going to happen and I don’t blame UGAA at all when it happens.
If I understand it correctly, which I may not, the Hartman Fund minimum is really driven by the per seat donation requirement based on where your seats are in the stadium. In most cases, that is $275-475 per ticket. So if you have 4 lower level seats on the side, the best strategy is donate $1,900 via Hartman because you have to and the rest via Magill and get the bonus points.
Basically at some point UGA is going to clear the deck on seats with no priority for seniority (right now if you have 50 yard line seats, you keep them if you donate the minimum regardless of your cumulative donation history).
Are you at all familiar with what was done at Stegman Coliseum for men's basketball this season? If not just imagine having your seats 4 rows off the court, showing up through thick and thin for 30+ years. Making your donation, buying your tickets and then being told.... HEY guess what we are gonna etch a sketch wipe the entire seating chart clean on the excuse of "student ticket location." Then allow the "reseating" to be done strictly on a totem pole of $$$$ no mater if you've every bought UGA men's basketball season tickets in the past or not.... Get ready, because its coming to Sanford I'm afraid.
If mens basketball is the model, which is may or may not be, it will be more of a combination of current giving and longevity, with current giving having a heavier weight but longevity still having priority over what I will call moderate donors.
There definitely will be but they’ll more than make up for it money wise. I would also guess this is something 5ish years away
I have 4 tickets in 316 since 2016 and now that we have a 1 year old was hoping to grow old with my son and watch games from there....looking bleak now I guess.
So all other factors be damned, just start a line of $$$$$ in order and let them fill the stadium? That's a no for me brother.
I feel your pain 100% man, have watched my 16/14 year old grow up with our seats (after I grew up in them years ago). Evidently that doesn't mean anything now, just give me MORE MONEY and otherwise your loyalty is expendable.
Say whatever you want, we know A LOT of fellow season men's basketball ticket holder that got screwed in the process. It was amazing how many "basketball supporters" we suddenly had... You can be assured the Silver Circle/Magill will get what they want and they want YOUR TICKETS. As long as we win like we are right now its not an issue. Go through a spell like Florida is currently in and you'll have a ghost town
Concur... We started getting season tickets ( section 129) my first year after graduating and have had the same seats since 1977.. if they re-seat us to a much worse area, that will be the end for us
I don't doubt that they'll more than make up for it money-wise, and that may be all that ultimately matters in the end. But I do wonder how many season ticketholders- especially older ones- would give up their tickets altogether if they had to move from really good seats to much worse seats. And what something like that would ultimately mean for how many actual season tickets we sell, and how full the stadium would be. And my line of thinking is that it's not like we have some massively long waiting list to get tickets. Even as recently as 2021, anyone who donated the minimum could get season tickets. Obviously that went up a little in 2022 & a good bit in 2023, but it's still not some astronomical number to get in on the ground floor for season tickets. But if 10-20% of season ticketholders drop their tickets during the reseating process, will there be enough new buyers to backfill them? I don't have an answer for that. But I can tell you one thing- my dad would likely be one that dropped his. He's 75 years old & has had 4 tickets on the 40 under the overhang on the south side since 1980. He goes to almost every game, gets there early & stays until the end, even though he's not in the greatest shape. He donates the minimum every year to keep those seats, and doesn't have a crazy-high Hartman total as a result. In fact, for years his donation was $150 per seat, which was lower than the $200 minimum I had to pay when I first got my own tickets upon graduation for the 2000 season (every seat was $200 then, other than the older ticketholders like my dad that were grandfathered in). If you told him that he's all of a sudden going to have to pay as much or more for much worse seats than what he currently has, there's no way he's going along with it. He would drop the seats, then have me help him find tickets on the secondary market for any games he wants to attend moving forward, but no way would he "start over" at age 75 in worse- and likely much worse- seats. And I highly doubt he would be alone.
And it should be pointed out that at most big programs this has already occurred. As a longtime UGA season ticket holders have had the grandfathering thing it has been unbelievably beneficial despite the dollars donated being lower significantly lower.
You are correct, there will be some pissed off people, but there will be other people lined up to take their place. The bottom line is that money talks, I have been donating like crazy for the last 8 years to keep from losing my seats.
Just to be clear, I don't think moving longtime season ticketholders to a different location is "categorically unacceptable and wrong". I never said that and hope what I wrote didn't imply that. I just said if it happened, my dad specifically would drop his tickets altogether rather than move to worse seats (at age 75 or older). And that there would be a decent number of fans that I would think would be in the same boat. I never said it was unfair or unreasonable. Honestly we know how lucky we've been to keep these seats for as long as we have at far below market value (i.e., what someone who has worse seats would happily pay UGA for the right to buy ours). I have said in many posts over the years what a great deal we have had and still have. And I wouldn't blame UGA if they eventually did reseat the stadium. It would make a ton of sense financially, as they leave a lot of money on the table by sticking with the current policy. I just doubt we would end up buying season tickets moving forward if & when they do.
Rather than a reseating, why can't UGA just raise the per year required minimum on premium seats?
I think the real problem with a re-shuffle occurs if/when UGA hits a dry spell on the field. Then a lot of your long time supporters are gone and you’re left hoping the new money folks are still there (which hasn’t been the case as many other places during those times).
That is correct. Also it is known that the younger people (gen z) are not attending fb games as much as older ones. Also, the parking situation/tailgating situation is getting worse for season ticket holders .
It's around 300 or so. And to be clear, there are still very good perks at that level, but things like practice access, golf trips and other very small group stuff is much more limited than it used to be. I am not as close to this as some others, but attribute to high class problem of lots more big donors plus competition for some perks with large NIL donors who may or may not also give as generously to UGAA.
Tax deduction and you can give stock shares in lieu of cash so you don’t take gain on your stock sale
Certainly worked well for the better part of the history of the program. Loyalty, consistent giving and support was the model across all of the collegiate landscape. It’s a new attitude to tier your fans and let $$$ drive every major decision. Devolution of the college model into semi pro sports… impossible to deny
100%! Have told this to folks for years, the seeds of decision today will blossom in the coming years. I know quite a few other UGA between 23-50yrs old but I only know of 2 others who donate/buy season tickets… why would they start? The deck is stacked against them so they just stubhub a couple games and watch the rest on TV
There will be a long line for any UGA tickets that become available.
