Student tickets for Tennessee football will see a price increase heading into the 2024 and 2025 seasons, a UT spokesperson confirmed to The Daily Beacon. The price will be $20 per student ticket in 2024 and $25 in 2025.
Tickets to home football games, allotted to students in limited numbers, were previously only $10. Tickets to other sporting events, including men’s basketball, will remain free of charge to students.
“As we continue to enhance the experience all around Neyland Stadium with added Wi-Fi, an expanded concourse, new videoboards and a new student entrance opening this fall,” an email sent to Tennessee students read, “student tickets will cost $20 for the 2024 season and cost $25 in 2025.”
Student life and athletics worked with students to address concerns and improve access to all sports. A lot of the change comes as well to eliminate confusion with ticket requests. All students, undergraduate and graduate, who have paid the full student fees will be eligible to request football and basketball tickets.
According to the email sent out to students on Tuesday, the Rowdy Rewards and the Big Orange Tix loyalty systems are merging.
It will remain a weighted lottery system for football. Similar to the current system, the more loyalty points a student has will help their chances of being awarded tickets, the UT spokesperson confirmed.
The email adds that T-Credits from attending any sporting event will help students be awarded tickets to Tennessee football games. Tickets may be requested through the Tennessee athletics app. The email says that more information on points carrying over will be added at a later date.
Some schools, like North Carolina State, offer free student ticket options. Universities like Kentucky offer student tickets for $11 per game.
Other schools, like Clemson and Notre Dame, offer season ticket options for students. These options range from $120-$325 for a season student ticket, depending on the university.
Tennessee now lands somewhere in the midpoint with the new pricing options — the goal for the university with the changes.
Demand for student tickets rising
Student ticket demand at Tennessee is at an all-time high following the football team’s resurgence. For example, more than 18,000 students requested tickets for the Tennessee-Austin Peay contest in September. The bench seating in the student section areas can only hold approximately 11,500 people.
Requesting student tickets turned into a fiasco during the 2022 season. Many students waited until the clock struck 9 a.m. on the dot to request a ticket, hoping they would be a lucky chosen one. A loyalty points system often chooses who gets the first pick of tickets and also considers the grade of the student.
UT recently announced its record revenue for the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year, raking in more than $200 million for the first time in university history.
The price rise comes as Tennessee Athletics enjoys record ticket sales while Neyland Stadium undergoes intense renovations, bringing the stadium new Wi-Fi and modernizing some of the older parts of the stadium, which includes South Stadium Hall.
Improvements to the football athletic facility, as well as Lindsey Nelson Stadium, are also currently underway, and renovations are planned for Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
Tennessee football on an upward trajectory
Tennessee football enjoyed the 11-win season in 2022, the first double-digit win season since 2007. Five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava is expected to take the reigns in 2024, shaping up for an exciting season.
“I am really excited about who is in that locker room, who is coming back,” Tennessee football head coach Josh Heupel said, “and where we have an opportunity to go in ’24.”
This story has been updated to reflect information sent to Tennessee students on Tuesday, Feb. 5.
