When I started attending UB volleyball matches six years ago, the tickets were $5 and I thought that was very reasonable. And I did get the distinct impression that not a lot of people actually paid for tickets. Of course students got in free, and friends and family of the team got complimentary tickets.

Then, for the last two years, home volleyball matches were free to everyone! Well, that's great, who doesn't love free things? In the back of my mind, I knew that free volleyball probably wouldn't last forever, that some day they would start charging again, that made sense and I would have been happy to pay $5 again.

Much to my surprise, the tickets will be $8 for home games this year. (Note: if you are a senior, or a child, or in a group, tickets will be $5). Eight dollars seems kind of high for a mid-major program, especially since this program has never had a record better than 6–10 in conference.

So, I e-mailed the ticket office to see if they would be offering a season ticket, at somewhat of a discount. I was informed that there are no season tickets. So to see all of Buffalo's home volleyball games (of which there are 8), you will pay $64.

So how does this compare with other volleyball tickets? Let's look around the country. We'll start with defending National Champion and #1 pre-season ranked Penn State. A general admission ticket is $8, for major conference volleyball. A season ticket is $84 dollars, but that's good for 15 home games, including a matchup against pre-season #2 Stanford, and games against conference opponents in the conference with the highest RPI.

What about pre-season #5 Nebraska? They play in the only facility in the country designed specifically for volleyball, they play in one of the most volleyball-crazed areas of the country, they sell out their 8,000 seat arena every match, and yet standing room tickets are $8 and general admission is $10 for major conference volleyball.

How about #14 Ohio State? $8 for general admission. #5 Wisconsin? $5 for general admission. How about MAC opponent Ohio, who went undefeated in the MAC last year and is one of the top programs in the MAC over many years? Their general admission is $5, and a season ticket is $20.

Something is amiss here. Or as Karch Kiraly once famously said, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark". (Or was that Shakespeare?)

If the ticket prices were $5 as they were before, I probably wouldn't have minded a bit. And while I certainly can afford to pay $8, the crux of my complaint is that I don't like paying for things that are overpriced. Which these tickets are, as the above information shows. I don't really have a choice though, I like watching volleyball, and Buffalo is my alma matter, so where am I going to go? But others who might have attended a Division I volleyball match could easily be put off by the price and decide to go watch Division I volleyball at Canisius or Niagara, where (as far as I can tell) the matches are free; or perhaps not attend Division I volleyball at all. This is Economics 101.

And what about that big matchup at Alumni Arena on September 26 against Toledo, a team that was winless in the MAC last year? $8 to see Toledo at Buffalo, or $8 to see B1G power Minnesota at #1 Penn State on the same night? Hmmm....

I considered writing a polite letter to Danny White, but I doubt that will make the slightest difference, so as of now, that's not going to happen.

Okay, that's my rant. Your turn.