Okay, so the headline isn't a direct quote from David Brandon but it's pretty close. 

Earlier this week, UM increased the price of student football tickets roughly 23% and made them all general admission. Brandon points out the increase isn't about gouging students to create revenue for an athletic department that netted $136 million last year. Instead, the increased profit will go toward the rec program. 

Another big reason for the changes is the amount of empty seats in the student section. Apparently, 25% of Michigan student tickets sold end up being no-shows. Another 50% are late arrivals. That's right, 25% no-show, 50% late arrival. My guess is that a lot of that is because the team is janky but Brandon has a different thought:

"If you pay a price for a ticket, how much of an investment are you making in that ticket? We did a study to find out what other schools are charging for student tickets, because maybe we're too low. Maybe one of the reasons students aren't showing up is because they feel like they haven't made enough of a significant investment in the ticket."

 

"That wasn't our motivation. Our motivation was to get the students into the seats and be there to support the team."

25% no show, 50% late arrival. At a 22,000 student ticket population, that's 5,500 no shows and 11,000 late arrivals. /NELSON