They won’t be fooled again.

After a ticket controversy earlier this year raised fairness concerns, USF has a new ticket-buying policy for the football team’s upcoming bowl game: one student, one ID, one ticket.

“It’s the fairest way to distribute tickets,” said Associate Athletic Director Tom Veit, who helped draft the new guidelines. Student Affairs has approved the policy, Veit said.

In September, before USF’s game at the University of Central Florida, some students brought lists containing dozens – and in some cases hundreds – of names and University identification numbers and bought in bulk. One student bought 400 of the 1,250 tickets. “This time, there will be no lists, no bringing your friends’ IDs,” Veit said. “If you want a ticket, you have to get it yourself.”

The UCF controversy involved tickets sold by Student Government, which is under the umbrella of Student Affairs. SG won’t be selling any tickets to the bowl game.

“The Athletic Department bought enough student tickets so we don’t really need to,” student body Vice President Faran Abassi said.

Abassi said SG is working on securing travel and lodging arrangements for students going to the game.

On Sunday, USF accepted an invitation to the Papajohns.com Bowl on Dec. 23 in Birmingham, Ala., against East Carolina University.

The Athletic Department spent $10,000 to buy 500 student tickets for the game. Starting Wednesday at 9 a.m., students can go to the Sun Dome to reserve a free ticket. The actual tickets will be available for pick up on Dec. 14.

The Sun Dome will also sell $30 companion tickets, and if the 500 tickets are exhausted, students can still buy a $30 ticket and USF will attempt to find them a seat its student section.

“We can’t guarantee that, but we’ll try,” Veit said.

If a group of students would like to sit together during the game, Veit advised giving a group name when reserving tickets.

“And the names should be as unique as possible,” Veit said. “Probably the easiest way is just to pick one person’s name and use that. Don’t choose something like ‘Gamma,’ because there could be four other groups using the same one.”