As injury reports begin to filter in from Saturday's "unruly" scramble for 2009 Rose Bowl tickets, a Penn State Athletic department official said such disorder should never happen again.
Changes for future ticket sales may include making sure the front of the line stays in order, said Greg Myford, associate athletic director of marketing and communication.
"We'll certainly be in a position to handle it better next time," he said.
The 6:30 a.m. line for tickets at Gate A of the Bryce Jordan Center originally formed in an orderly fashion, but more students soon showed up and attempted to push their way to the front of the crowd, Myford said. Some students were not sober and had come directly from celebrating the end of classes to the ticket line, he said.
"There were kids who showed up who had clearly been drinking," he said.
Penn State Police said they were not sure if alcohol played a role in the events.
Police first responded to the scene about 10 minutes after the ticket sale location was announced Saturday, with one student sent to the hospital for injuries, police said.
One student was intentionally elbowed in the face; another was trampled and was hospitalized for treatment of a bruised hip and abrasion on the palm of his hand, police said. More injuries may have gone unreported, police said.
Calls to police initially came from students in line, police said.
"Unfortunately, it was a few that upset what was happening for the many," Myford said. "Although that can sometimes be the case, it doesn't make it any less unfortunate."
Though tickets did not sell out -- about 2,000 of the 2,500 tickets available for students were sold between 8 a.m. and noon Saturday -- anticipated demand and the subsequent sense of urgency may have played a part in injuries, Myford said.
The location of the sale was released online at 6:30 a.m. the day of the sale, and students were able to purchase one or two tickets, he said.
Staff expected students to show up immediately, but no problems were anticipated, Myford said.
