I am a former student and I have to say the new system is brilliant in my opinion. Instead of getting mostly balcony games you now get half your seats in GA and if you are timely and loyal you will no longer have to sit in the balcony very often. This whole system rewards loyal students as it should be.
Last night lower GA was full earlier than in past years because people knew if they did not get there early they would end up in the balcony. Before, there was less incentive to show up early as you knew you would get a good seat in first 25 rows no matter what in GA. Now you must show up early to get a good seat.
As for the balcony not being full no one would want those tickets most likely (especially for no-name U in early season) if they were released to the public every game. The games are full for break because going is a novelty. I also grew up in the area and I always went to break games prior to being a student because these were the only games you COULD go to. If every game had tickets sold you would not have the same numbers as it is no longer special.
The only change I could argue making is releasing Rows 26-45 of the eastside to people on the waiting list if they want them. Otherwise pre-season sell outs whether students attend or not is far more preferable to athletic department moneywise and it keeps opposing teams fans out (although that's rarely an issue).
There is no perfect system but the new one IU has implemented this year is certainly a step in the right direction and I'm not sure there is a better one. People will always complain no matter what system is used
