Badger Game Day: A Student's Guide to UW-Madison Football Tickets
For University of Wisconsin students, securing a seat at a Badgers football game is a highly competitive endeavor. As dawn breaks on a July morning, eager Badger fans swarm any device possible - laptops, iPads and cell phones, vying for the competitive prize of a coveted season student football ticket. It can feel like winning the lottery - because it is.
The Lottery System
Student tickets are initially sold through UW Athletics, directly to students. To manage demand, Wisconsin employs a lottery-style system for distributing student tickets for most high-profile sports - football, men’s basketball and men’s hockey. Under this system, students enter a virtual waiting room when tickets go on sale, and from there securing a season ticket boils down to luck.
Herb stated that the number of student tickets sold at Camp Randall Stadium for football and the Kohl Center for men’s basketball was determined by the UW-Madison Athletic Board more than 25 years ago. Camp Randall’s capacity is 80,321 fans, of which only 14,000 of those are delegated to students. Students sit on the North end of the stadium, in sections J through P. So far in the 2024 season, UW has generated $23 million in revenue from football ticket sales.
Student Seating at Camp Randall
Regulations for the student section in Camp Randall have changed a lot over the years. A century ago, all seating was general admission - whether student or otherwise, everyone squeezed onto wooden bleachers. And it was a tight squeeze: in 1915, the official capacity of the bleachers was just 3,000, but the Daily Cardinal reported that as many as 15,000 fans showed up for games.
Today’s Camp Randall accommodates 80,321 people, and 14,000 of those seats are set aside for students. In case you’re curious, those seats are situated in sections K, L, M, N, O, and P, as well as part of section J. on Game Days. They then exchange the vouchers for tickets, with seat assignments given out first come, first served. This ensures that the student sections will fill from best seats to worst. (Which, and I’m sure this is purely coincidental, makes the stadium look more attractive and energetic to people watching on television.)
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Much of the motivation for experimenting with different seating systems came as a reaction to the tragedy of 1993, when, after a Wisconsin victory over Michigan, the student crowd surged toward the field, injuring 73 people (six seriously).
Alternatives for Obtaining Tickets
By now, students either got season tickets or they didn’t. They had to wake up early and log in to a virtual queue where their hopes of getting tickets had as much luck involved as a slot machine. Once students logged in, they were among thousands placed in line, anxiously waiting to be let in. Regardless, thousands of students missed out on season tickets and the right to experience their Badgers host powerhouse programs like Alabama, Penn State and Oregon during a season capped by the annual battle against Minnesota for Paul Bunyan’s Axe.
While this might sound like a total bummer to those who struck out, there is still hope. Students who didn’t get season tickets should first make sure they’ve joined the Snapchat story dedicated to their graduating class. This feature shrinks a massive class into an online community where students who can’t make a game are looking to make some money for their troubles. This method runs the risk of being scammed, so you should use caution. When purchasing tickets through someone else on Snapchat, you will want to confirm that person actually has season tickets. Another option is to request to meet with the seller in-person to do the exchange in the most secure fashion possible.
It's possible single tickets could be too expensive for students, especially for higher-profile games. Students can try to purchase season tickets for men’s basketball and men’s hockey. Enjoy what you're reading? The Red Card is a great deal and allows students to get into other sporting events on campus without worrying about the hassle of tracking people down on Snapchat. While football is surely the sport that has the most pageantry on campus, volleyball and women’s hockey are the school’s two most successful programs.
Navigating the Third-Party Ticket Market
Behind these events lies a lottery system and a ticket economy constructed by third-party apps and message boards. Student tickets are initially sold through UW Athletics, directly to students.
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Ellie Culver, a senior at UW, shared her experience with buying tickets through third parties. She missed out on getting student season tickets during the initial sale, forcing Culver to turn to third-party platforms for availability. Listings consist of “Selling [Event] message me” and students will strike a deal through direct messages, often Messenger. From there, it’s up to students to independently verify the credibility of the buyer or seller and make sure both parties receive either the money or the ticket. Money is often exchanged between peer-to-peer platforms such as Cash App or Venmo. Similarly, other platforms are also utilized.
“I saw someone was selling a ticket for $100 so I direct messaged her. I was like, ‘Hey, I see you’re selling’ and then she asked if we could do Apple Pay,” Ellie said. “And I said, ‘I don’t have Apple Pay." Ellie’s experience does not happen in a vacuum, there are plenty of scammers fishing on these unregulated boards hoping to dupe students into sending money to them. These scammers often impersonate other students to make prospective buyers believe they have a valid ticket. “So then I went back in the group chat, and I was like, don’t buy from [Name of scammer]. She’s gonna scam you,” Ellie said.
Another platform where students regularly sell tickets is the Snapchat Class Story. “I know a lot of people have moved to the route of meeting up in person to do it. It’s important to note that no matter the platform, every student ticket must be transferred through the UW Badgers app, which is managed by UW Athletics. The platform functions as an escrow service, meaning the money is transferred through Student Seats while the ticket is exchanged through the UW Badger app. The platform says since both parties know exactly who they are dealing with, the opportunity for scams is greatly reduced.
Student Seats does take a commission - sellers do not incur fees when selling their tickets on Student Seats, but the buyer incurs them based on what it was sold for. The higher the price of the ticket, the higher the percentage and flat rate fees are. Sarah, a UW student who wishes to remain anonymous, and her friend Emma, also using a pseudonym, shared their frustrations about the growing challenges of securing student tickets. Sarah was looking to sell her Alabama student section ticket, so she listed it for $140.
Furthermore, UW Athletics states, “The University of Wisconsin Athletic Department prohibits ticket purchases by account holders who are purchasing with the primary intent of reselling their tickets. Student Seats connected Sarah with a buyer, also a UW student, who first had to prove their intent to buy by sending money into the platform’s escrow system. But, things went wrong in the transfer process and the buyer took advantage of Sarah. “He snatched the money. [It took] five minutes, five minutes [sic],” Sarah stated. Sarah and Emma worked to recover their money by contacting the buyer since they are both UW students and their identities are known they were able to track down a few parties that could help.
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“We have almost 50,000 users, so there’s going to be instances like that,” Pietz said. “We do have a 24/7 customer support system…We don’t get a ton, but we are answering those [incidents] as soon as possible and trying to fix things. And we do offer refunds as well. So, if students do ever, like, there’s a weird scenario like that, we make sure that they’re not getting screwed over. So that’s our number one priority. We don’t want students to think of us in a bad way. As the gap between limited availability and increasing demand for student tickets continues to widen, market risks and realities will continue to impact the fan experience.
“I don’t think that this has deterred me from wanting to go to the games at all, by any means, but it definitely has deterred me from wanting to sell my ticket in the future,” Sarah stated. “We aren’t like a massive ticket company such as Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, etc. that are destroying the industry,” Pietz stated. “None of us do this as a full-time job and just work on it at night when we have free time.
“I think a [individual] game ticket lottery would be a better approach,” Culver said. Demand for tickets shows no signs of letting up, while 3rd party platforms attempt to fill a void in the market. “I just think that there is a way better process at the university can implement,” Sarah said. “I don’t know how they would do it, but making sure students aren’t price scalping them for a higher price. Because I feel like it just depends on [a] per game [basis]. Obviously, Alabama was a huge game, and then last year was Ohio State. “[UW] should only let you sell it back to the university for the price you bought it, like each ticket is $38 or whatever [sic],” Emma said. “I would first ask literally every trusted source you know. Do you have any tickets? Does anyone you know have any tickets? Because then you know it’s reliable,” she said.
Student-Athlete Ticket Information
Student-Athletes may receive one complimentary admission for each home game in the ticketed sports listed below. Tickets are for a student-athlete’s personal use only. A limited number of tickets are set aside for student-athletes for each event; therefore, admission is not guaranteed. Tickets will be available for distribution on game-day only, on a first-come, first-served basis. Student-athletes are subject to the same carry-in policies as other ticketed patrons. For instance, student athletes will not be able to bring backpacks into competition venues.
Student-athletes, without exception, must present their WISCARD to claim a ticket, and are required by NCAA rules to enter the competition venue immediately upon receiving a ticket.
- Football: Student-athletes may claim a ticket beginning 90 minutes prior to kick-off from an Athletic Ticket Office representative working at the student-athlete entrance located at the Gate 5 student entrance of Camp Randall Stadium. The student-athlete entrance is the chute located toward the top of the hill, closest to Breese Terrace. Ticket distribution will continue until halftime or until ticket inventory is exhausted, whichever comes first.
- Women's Volleyball: Student-athletes may claim a ticket beginning 60 minutes prior to the match from an Athletic Ticket Office representative working at the Pass Gate entrance between Gates A and B of the Field House. Ticket distribution will continue until the end of the second set/third match, or until the supply of tickets is exhausted, whichever comes first.
- Men's Basketball: Student-athletes may claim a ticket 90 minutes prior to tip-off from an Athletic Ticket Office representative working inside the student-athlete window located at Gate B of the Kohl Center. Ticket distribution will continue until 10 minutes remain in the game or until the ticket inventory is exhausted, whichever comes first.
- Women's Basketball: Student-athletes may claim a ticket 60 minutes prior to tip-off from an Athletic Ticket Office representative working inside the student-athlete window located at Gate B of the Kohl Center. Ticket distribution will continue until halftime or until the supply of tickets is exhausted, whichever comes first.
- Men's Hockey: Student-athletes may claim a ticket 90 minutes prior to face-off from an Athletic Ticket Office representative working inside the student-athlete window located at Gate B of the Kohl Center. Ticket distribution will continue until the start of the 3rd period or until the ticket inventory is exhausted, whichever comes first.
- Women's Hockey: Student-athletes may claim a ticket 60 minutes prior to face-off from an Athletic Ticket Office representative working inside the pass gate entrance at LaBahn Arena. Ticket distribution will continue until the beginning of the third period or until the supply of tickets is exhausted, whichever comes first.
All student-athletes may attend all other UW non-ticketed sporting event at no cost.
Game Day Experience
Camp Randall Stadium, home of the Badgers, is one of college football’s cathedrals and best atmospheres in the sport. Madison puts on an even better performance before games, hosting tailgates and get-togethers for Badgers across the world.
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