For the first time in eight years, the price of Marquette Fanatics tickets has increased, rising from $50 to $70 before the start of the 2007-2008 Men's Basketball season.

The $70 sticker price covers all 18 Men's Basketball home games, a fanatics T-shirt and the beginning and end of the year cookouts.,”For the first time in eight years, the price of Marquette Fanatics tickets has increased, rising from $50 to $70 before the start of the 2007-'08 Men's Basketball season.

The $70 sticker price covers all 18 Men's Basketball home games, a fanatics T-shirt and the beginning and end of the year cookouts.

Ryan McCauley, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said the price increase seems a lot worse than it really is.

"It always stinks when you have to pay more for anything," McCauley said. "But we've been pampered because we're so used to paying the lower prices."

Michael Broeker, Deputy Athletic Director for Marquette Athletics, said the department strives to provide affordability and accessibility to the student body.

"We've fully maintained that commitment to the students," Broeker said. "It is by far the most affordable package in the conference."

Although schools like Louisville and the University of Cincinnati offer free tickets to the student body, Broker said the free tickets were a misnomer.

"It may be added as part of their tuition. Students might pay a fee and not reap the benefits," Broker said.

At approximately $3.89 per ticket, Marquette's Fanatics tickets are the cheapest in the Big East and much more affordable than the regular $9.00 ticket price for upper deck seats. With the opportunity to watch games from the student section in $30 seats close to courtside, the $70 season ticket price for fanatics doesn't seem quite so hefty.

Even so, Peter Costanza, a sophomore in the College of Communication, said he heard people say the extra $20 is a deal-breaker for them.

"They plan to bum tickets off fanatic users who don't use theirs," Costanza said.

Broeker said the ticket increase has nothing to do with the past performance or expected performance of the program. He said after eight years, the department decided it was the right time to move forward with ticket prices.

"Students who want to go to the games should be able to do so," Broeker said. "The fanatics really have the ability to be difference-makers for our program."

He said the fanatics always respond whenever the Athletics Department asks them to, citing the success of ESPN College Gameday last year.

Broeker said most schools do not offer season tickets to such a large percent of the population and pointed out Marquette's fanatics section seats over half the students enrolled as undergraduates.

"I like to see opposing teams' faces when they come onto the court an hour before the game and they see 1,500 screaming fans," Broeker said.

McCauley said the price of the tickets was not a problem for him in light of the opportunity for so many students to attend the games.

"We're lucky to even have seats, considering how many fanatics there are," he said.

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