Not everyone is fortunate enough to experience the thrill of competing as a member of a collegiate football team.

For many, throwing the pigskin around the parking lot during a tailgate party is as close as they will get to taking a step on the field.

But just because most students at ASU won’t be strapping on pads, doesn’t mean they won’t be part of the action.

This year, more students are a part of the Sun Devil team than ever before.

The University sold 9,600 student season tickets this season, an all-time high according to associate athletic director Mark Brand.

ASU went 10-3 on the field in 2007 and is set to face No. 3 Georgia this weekend, spurred on students to make haste in ordering their season tickets.

“The student section has been great,” junior linebacker Mike Nixon said.

“When we go out to warm up almost two hours before the game and that section is three-quarters full, it’s pretty cool to see.”

With a stadium capacity of 71,706, the student section represents roughly 13 percent of the seats at Sun Devil Stadium.

So how does it compare to other schools in the Pac-10 Conference?

Husky Stadium at the University of Washington, a venue that seats roughly the same number of fans as Sun Devil Stadium, sold out its student section for this season (about 6,000 tickets, eight percent of the stadium’s capacity).

UW has also included an auxiliary student section in its west end zone of to help with increased demand.

Washington State University boasts the largest student section percentage-wise in the Pac-10, with 34 percent of the capacity of Martin Stadium reserved for the student body.

Size of the student section is not always the best indicator of the noise it can produce.

Oregon’s Autzen Stadium, widely regarded as one of the noisiest places to play in the country, reserves a highly coveted 5,500 student season tickets in the Ducks’ student section.

While many ASU students made it a priority to get their season tickets before textbooks, some who waited were left disappointed.

“I was completely shocked,” tourism management sophomore Cindy Bonilla said. “Going to football games was probably what I was looking forward to more than anything this semester.”

While student season tickets have been sold out this season, ASU students hoping to catch the Sun Devils play are not completely out of luck.

Though forking over half a semester’s tuition to score a ticket on eBay may be the only way to get into Sun Devil Stadium for this weekend’s game against Georgia, students can still get seats for remaining home games.

A limited number of tickets will be made available to students leading up to home games against UCLA, Oregon, and Washington State.

Those tickets will be offered to students at the price of $20, but are not located in the gold sea that is the student section, and there is no guarantee as to how many tickets will be made available.

Season ticket prices also vary throughout the Pac-10 depending on the school and different packages are offered based on the popularity of a given sport.

For example, admittance into all home football games is free for Stanford students.

However, for Cardinal basketball games, a much more popular attraction at the school, paid admission is required for students.

Similarly, ASU offers free admission to students with a valid student identification card to all home sporting events with the exception of football and men’s basketball.

Price of tickets is not necessarily easy to compare, as schools’ prices vary base on what the ticket plans offer.

ASU students had the opportunity to purchase a season ticket that included admission to all ASU home football and men’s basketball games for $99.

At USC, $145 will get students into all Trojan home football games, while the rest of USC’s athletic events are free to students with valid identification.

At Washington State, $129 affords students a sports pass which guarantees them a seat at all home athletic events.

For students forced to watch their fellow classmates go crazy in the student section from elsewhere in Sun Devil Stadium, there is a lesson to be learned.

“I would tell students for next season not to wait and buy their tickets as soon as they can,” Bonilla said. “I know I’ll be at the front of the line.”

Reach the reporter at nkosmide@asu.edu.