Student ticket plan: How does it compare to other national powers?

Will scenes like this one be a thing of the past, or will students pay for tickets? (Photo by Josh Kelly, USAT)

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Apr 13, 2016, 2:58 PM

Clemson Athletic Director Dan Radakovich informed Clemson students Monday evening and the media Tuesday morning about a proposed plan in which the athletic department would charge students a season ticket fee for sitting in the lower deck.

Under the plan, students would still have the option of sitting in the upper deck student sections for free but would be charged a $225 fee (or $32 per game) if they want to sit in the highly-coveted lower bowl sections that have been home to many of the block seating for organizations and IPTAY Collegiate Club members

As expected, the plan has been met with the kind of passion only Clemson fans can show, and not all of it good. However, the fact remains that most universities – especially those who play big-time college football – have been charging students for the privilege of attending home football games for years.

The question remains, however: How does Clemson’s $225 per season pricing compare to other schools? The answer: It would be among the highest in the country. There is also a caveat – some schools charge an athletic fee which covers all sports while some schools charge just for football.

In the Big 12 for example: University of Oklahoma students paid $180 for season tickets in 2015, and their average home game student ticket price ($30) is the third highest in the Big 12, trailing only Texas ($38) and Oklahoma State ($33). But……the price that both Texas and Oklahoma State charge includes admission to all sports. For Oklahoma, the $180 fee only permits admission to football games.

Now let’s look at the vaunted SEC, the home of big stadiums and even bigger football budgets. South Carolina and Vanderbilt include student tickets as part of athletic fees in tuition costs. On average, students in the SEC pay just $12.64 per ticket.

The highest rate is at Texas A&M, where students pay $290 for season tickets, an average of $41 per game over the Aggies seven home games. Missouri is second-highest and charged $152 for their six home games, an average of $25 per ticket. It’s interesting to note that the two newest members of the good ole boys club of the SEC charge the highest amounts. The cost of doing business in a new athletic world? Perhaps.

Auburn is next at $140 ($20 per seven home games), then Florida ($105 or $15 per ticket), then Tennessee ($70 or $10 per ticket) and then Arkansas ($85 for the season or $14 per game). LSU charged $84 for the season (or $12 per ticket) for general admission and $126 (or $18 per ticket) for reserved seating, Alabama charged $70 (or $10 per ticket), and Georgia charged $56 (or $8 per ticket).

In the ACC, Florida St. offers reserved student seats at $240 per season. General admission seating is free (which is most like the model Clemson wants to follow). Boston College charges $199 as part of a sports combo package while Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Louisville and Pitt all charge $6 per ticket. Georgia Tech charges $7 per ticket. The rest of the schools offer free tickets but some schools, like Virginia, charge students an athletic fee.

Other national schools of note: Ohio St. ($252 or $36 per game), and Oregon (which charged $367 per season ticket in 2014, a whopping $52 per game).

The chart below takes a look at the SEC and ACC:

ACC

School Overall Price Home Games Price Per Game

Florida State $240/Free#

Boston College $199* 7 $28

Syracuse $99 6 $17

Virginia Tech $72 6 $12

Louisville $72 6 $12

Georgia Tech $49 7 $7

Pitt $25 6 $4

Wake Forest FREE