Columnist Ron Kantowski: Half-price tickets are a half-baked idea

Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2001 | 8:45 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's notes column appears Tuesday. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or 259-4088.

There's only one way to describe UNLV's new basketball ticket package that was announced on Monday.

It's a screamin' deal.

Fans who did not purchase season tickets for the 2001-02 season basically can do so now at a remarkable 50-percent savings (as low as $88). That's certainly a screamin' deal.

But if you bought your tickets before the season started -- or even last week -- you're probably wishing you had waited until this one. So that's something to scream about as well.

It should be noted that those suckers -- er, fans -- who paid full price for season tickets also were granted admission to the season opener against Wisconsin, the scrimmages -- er, early season games -- against Nicholls State and Georgia Southern and games yet to be played against Nevada-Reno, Tennessee State, Old Dominion, DePaul and Florida International.

Big deal.

The only games really worth going to this season are the seven Mountain West Conference contests and the Las Vegas Showdown outing against Texas. And those are exactly the games that fans who take advantage of the discounted tickets will receive. The Las Vegas Showdown nightcap featuring Brigham Young vs. national powerhouse Stanford also is included in the package.

The ticket offer might make sense in theory or at first glance, but it also shows how desperate/shortsighted UNLV has become in an effort to put some backsides in all those empty seats at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Terry Cottle and Greg Unruh of the sports marketing department defended the move, adding that it's not the first time the Rebels have offered discounted tickets after the season has tipped off. They said a natural break in the home schedule only enabled the offer to be made earlier than normal.

And Cottle also said some of the games that aren't included in the package -- such as Wisconsin and UNR, for instance -- are more attractive than some may think. Thus fans who paid the full price for tickets aren't really getting ripped off. Besides, Cottle said, fans who buy tickets for the entire season also get the best seats.

If the truth were a batting average, put Cottle at .333. The part about season ticket buyers getting the best seats is definitely true.

But if UNLV thought it was having trouble selling tickets this year, just wait until next season, when some fans may choose to hold out for a deal like this one.

And that's provided they decide to renew their tickets in the first place. I can't imagine anybody who paid full price for season tickets being too overjoyed by Monday's half-price announcement.

The year was 1988. Lou Holtz was the Notre Dame head man and his offensive coordinator was a prickly fellow named Jim Strong, who UNLV "lured away" from South Bend to become the Rebels' sixth head football coach.

Strong failed to wake up the echoes -- or even make them budge -- during his four seasons here, which culminated in his dismissal following a 17-27-0 coaching record.

After the Fresno State quarterback riddled Utah State for six touchdowns and 421 passing yards in a 70-21 victory over Utah State on Saturday, Brando implored Heisman voters to consider (or reconsider) Carr for the prestigious honor that goes to the best player in college football.

Juipe, who couldn't care less about how others are voting, beat Brando to Carr For Heisman headquarters by nearly a week, stating last Monday that he would be marking his ballot for the underappreciated Bulldogs triggerman.