The OU football team's failure to meet lofty expectations apparently affected OU-Texas ticket sales, which took a much longer time to sell out than in past years.

The tickets, which went on sale 7 a.m. Tuesday, did not sell out until 1:15 p.m., said Kenny Mossman, OU associate athletic director for media relations.

This stands in stark contrast to last year, when all tickets were sold in just over an hour.

Mossman said of the 4,000 tickets available for the game, 3,500 sold fairly quickly, and then the sales slowed down.

In the past, the two 24-hour high speed computer labs at Oklahoma Memorial Union and Couch Center have been swarmed by students on the morning of the OU-Texas ticket sales.

OU-Texas tickets



o Student tickets were available at 7 a.m. at SoonerSports.com and 10 a.m. at the OU Ticket Office.



o 4,000 student tickets were available tickets for purchase.



o All of the available student tickets were sold by 1:15 p.m.



o Last year, all tickets were sold out by 8 a.m.

This year, though, the labs were not nearly as packed.

Several students who woke up early said they were surprised by the lack of long lines that typically accompany OU-Texas ticket sales.

"I thought there would be more people," said Rachelle Smart, microbiology senior.

Smart, who arrived in the union at 6:15 a.m. to ensure she could find an open computer, did not initially think OU's loss to TCU and close call against Tulsa would affect ticket sales.

As of 6:45 a.m., though, there were still at least five available computers in the union lab.

Jon Hine, public affairs and administration senior, said there was a big difference between this year and others.

Hine, who arrived at 6:10 a.m., has now successfully bought tickets for each of the past three years.

"It was packed last year," Hine said. "It's not as intense this year."

The Couch Center lab was slightly busier than the union and did have a line, but nearly everyone who tried to get tickets there succeeded.

Jessica Dilbeck, sonography sophomore, said she bought her ticket and still had the time to buy tickets for two other people.

She said she disagreed with any students who were staying away from purchasing tickets because of the start by the football team.

"I think it's ridiculous," Dilbeck said. "You should stick by your team whether you win or lose."

Mossman said that there was no problem with the computer systems that might have affected how fast tickets could be purchased.

"It went very smoothly," Mossman said.

Some students blamed less-devoted fans for the lack of interest in tickets.

"The fair weather fans are not buying tickets right now," said Joseph Datin, accounting senior.

Joel Cox, accounting and finance graduate student, said for some students, the early games cast doubts on the team's chances to win in Dallas.

"A lot more people aren't really interested in getting tickets," he said. "Less people want to go because they are afraid we might lose."

Cox said the football team's poor start has affected many people who buy tickets and then try to scalp them for a profit.

"A lot of people are afraid they're not going to be able to sell them as easily this year," Cox said.

The team had big shoes to fill this season, said Hollis Ard, broadcasting and electronic media senior.

"Everybody has high expectations, and this year (the football team) hasn't been living up to them," Ard said.

Spencer Ard, economics senior, said despite the football team's poor start, he doesn't regret buying tickets.

"It was worth it," he said. "Texas seems to be a lot better this year, but it's still OU-Texas. I always go just because I love football."
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