As a die-hard Penn State football fan, you can probably imagine my heartbreak when I found out I didn’t get student tickets this year. Like thousands of others, I was crushed. My favorite Saturday pastime is gone. Truly tragic.

But here’s what really stings: plenty of students who did get tickets aren’t even planning to go. Instead, they’re reselling them for $800–$1,000. For those of us who actually live for college football, it feels like a slap in the face.

Now, I could rant for pages (and trust me, I want to), but I’ll do you one better — I have a solution.

Introducing: The Priority Point System

Here’s how it works. The more you’re involved in clubs on campus, the more athletic events you attend, the more points you earn. Your Penn State ID is scanned at games or activities, and points accumulate. The higher your total, the better your odds of securing football tickets. You can think of it as a loyalty program.

Now, this isn’t just about football. Imagine what this could do for the rest of Penn State Athletics. Men’s volleyball, women’s gymnastics, field hockey, wrestling—you name it. Smaller sports could even be worth more points, which would push students to support programs beyond just football. Suddenly, Rec Hall is packed on a random Wednesday night, and the athletes who train just as hard finally get the student section they deserve. This same model can still extend to branch campuses, where students support their own athletic events and build points the same way.

It’s a win-win. Students who actually attend Penn State sports events and are involved on campus receive rewards. Athletes across all programs get bigger crowds. Penn State gets even more school spirit (as if we weren’t already leading the nation).

Now, the one issue is the freshmen. They don’t have a chance to build points before their first year, so keep the lottery for them. That way, everyone gets a fair shot at the start. By sophomore year, though, their points can start to count.

Other schools, like LSU, already use versions of this for high-demand games and postseason tickets. There’s already a model out there, and Penn State could easily make it its own.

At the end of the day, this comes down to rewarding the students who show up and cheer, and not the ones who treat student tickets as an “investment opportunity.” This system would give students an entirely fair shot at tickets. Why not make sure the people in Beaver Stadium every Saturday are the ones who actually want to be there?