Don't know if you're already doing this or not, but I hope you allow entrance to the bleachers to any students around tip time. Good that you're giving paying members first dibs.
Alright, here's the deal:
O Zone memberships are $15 for Freshmen, $20 for any other students. The membership gets you a t-shirt and a membership card. The membership card is used during MAC games to give priority seating to paying members. When tip happens, anyone can come and sit down there.
The policy is enforced by student workers, be it practicum or internship students.
So, what I've been noticing is that smaller groups are down by the court during pregame, and a lot of people wait for tip to move. The result is that those who really want to move do, and those who don't, don't. Thus, the students who want to raise hell get the chance to be closer if they have a class on Wednesday nights or a Saturday morning job.
When I first saw the system implemented, it made me unsettled because of the mass numbers of students filling the upper bowl. I later realized that it meant a slightly louder atmosphere down near the court, and it was way easier to get the students down there to participate in cheers because they actually wanted to be there to raise a ruckus. On the broadcast it doesn't look all that great, but it sounds it.