This season, when it comes to Kansas University basketball tickets, a word of caution: Counterfeit tickets won’t get you in, because the school is moving to digital ticketing.

Event staff will use hand-held scanners to electronically read the barcode printed on the ticket, a technology first used by the KU Athletic Department earlier this fall at Horejsi Center.

The new system also is designed to help people whose tickets were lost or stolen, though fans will be charged a replacement fee.

To keep the new system from causing long, slow lines, ticket holders are urged to arrive early and have their tickets out and ready for scanning at the gate. Also, ticket holders are being asked to not fold tickets along the barcode, so as not to cause delays.

As in years past, a ticket turn-back program will be in place for the 2005-06 season. To fill every seat and generate more revenue, KU offers priority season-ticket holders the chance to return tickets so they can be re-sold. KU gets paid twice for the same seat, priority season-ticket holders can receive a tax deduction for the value of the ticket, and fans who otherwise wouldn’t get through the door can see the Jayhawks play.

Students now have the option of purchasing tickets online for a $1 charge, instead of repeatedly standing in line at Allen Fieldhouse throughout the season to buy tickets. Also, there will be no hard tickets. Instead, student IDs will be swiped, and the scanner will show whether that student purchased a ticket for that game.