University of Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon sits in the audience during the regents meeting at the Michigan Union on Thursday, June 19, 2014.

An embattled University of Michigan athletic department agreed to a number of significant concessions to student government, including cutting student pricing for season football tickets following a 40-percent drop in purchases since 2013.

For the second year in a row, U-M’s Central Student Government entered into negotiations this week with athletic department officials and this year came away with promise that include lower football ticket prices and monthly “open” meetings with athletic director Dave Brandon.

CSG president Bobby Dishell revealed the agreements at the University of Michigan Board of Regents meeting Thursday afternoon in Flint.

"This year was definitely less confrontational than last year," said Dishell in an interview Thursday morning. He was involved in previous discussions on the failed general assignment seating policy as student government's vice president.

“There was definitely a different feel in the room. This year they came to the realization that a lot of grievances have been made and that something would have to give.”

Dishell said that in a meeting with athletic director Dave Brandon and chief marketing officer Hunter Lochmann, the officials agreed to “significantly” lower the price of student tickets.

“We don’t have a number yet and there are a lot of factors that need to be taken into account,” Dishell said. “But it’s important that this price decrease significantly and I intend to hold to what the data is showing.

"No student should be priced out of this experience.”

A survey conducted by the Central Student Government that was completed by 22.7 percent of student ticketholders found the season ticket price would have to drop from $295 to $210 in order to maintain existing student attendance levels.

This year, fewer than 12,000 students purchased season tickets,a significant drop from the nearly 20,000 students who purchased season tickets two years ago. According to the CSG survey, the season ticket price would have to drop to $150 in order to regain that level of student participation.

According to the athletic department's website, non-student season ticket-holders pay an average of $65 per ticket per game, adding up to about $455 for the season.

The game day experience was also criticized in the student government survey. Students identified a lack of tradition, less marching band music and a more commercialized atmosphere as hurdles to their enjoyment of time in the Big House.

As for how the students who buy tickets will be seated, Dishell said that this year's seating plan was a major improvement over the general assignment seating that gave students first-come, first-served privileges, but that there's still work that needs to be done.

“A lot of students mentioned in the survey that seniority is really important to them,” he said.

“This year’s policy is better, but it’s not the ultimate solution. We’ll continue tweaking and working with the athletic department until we find that.”

The new policy gives students points for attending games and arriving early. Points earned this year will improve a student’s seats next season.

In addition to football issues, Dishell said the department has also made significant improvements to student’s abilities to access athletic department facilities.

The department agreed to eliminate rental fees for student groups with charitable aims renting space from the department, and the process for renting available spaces will be publicized. The athletic department has also committed to working to designate a weekend in 2016 for the student-run MUSIC Matters benefit concert can be held in Crisler Arena.

In order to improve communication between the department and the student body, Brandon has agreed to hold standing meetings with Dishell and monthly “open meetings,” that the student government president said will be similar to president Mark Schlissel’s fireside chats.

The fireside chats bring approximately 30 students who are randomly selected to meet with Schlissel and ask him questions about university policy. Dishell said he envisions Brandon holding similar meetings at which he has a chance to meet with students in small-group settings.

Brandon has come under fire from students after the mishandling of a probable concussion to quarterback Shane Morris during U-M's loss to Minnesota on Sept. 27. A petition on the Central Student Government Website asking the athletic director to step down attracted more than 11,000 signatures.

“Most students have not had an interaction with Dave Brandon,” he said.

“We want him to get out into the community. The way you build trust is through relationships and this will provide him an avenue to build those relationships.”

The agreements at this point are only verbal, but Dishell presented them to the Board of Regents Thursday and said he expects them to the followed.

“We made it really clear that this was something we wanted to go public with and they said we could absolutely do that,” he said. “They said they won’t walk back on them, so we’re looking forward to seeing where this goes.”

While he expressed optimism about the direction student-athletic department relations are headed, Dishell said there is still significant distrust among his constituency, and the two bodies remain a long way from an ideal relationship.

“It’s been three years of ‘us versus them,’” he said.

“We’ve been treated like customers instead of like family. It’s a Michigan family, a Michigan community. We’re not like every other customer. It’s going to take time to really rebuild that. It’s not going to happen overnight.”

Ben Freed is a general assignments reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Email him at benfreed@mlive.com and follow him on twitter at @BFreedinA2. He also answers the phone at 734-623-2528.