UCLA is removing one of the biggest barriers between its students and the stadiums and arena.
The athletic department announced that student tickets for UCLA football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball will be free, beginning with Saturday’s football game against Purdue. The change comes under new athletic director Tim Harris and applies to the programs that draw the most student attention on campus.
For football games at the Rose Bowl, students who need transportation can still buy Rooter Bus tickets for $15 per game or $60 for the rest of the season. That season pass works out to $10 per game.
The immediate impact should show up right away, starting with Purdue and continuing through UCLA’s five other remaining home games. With ticket cost no longer standing in the way, students now have no excuse not to fill the Den at the Rose Bowl or pack Pauley.
The bigger idea is what happens later. By getting students used to attending Bruin football and men’s and women’s basketball now, the department is betting that those habits will carry over after graduation, when today’s students become the next wave of season-ticket buyers.
It is a shift UCLA fans have wanted for years. The source notes that alumni have long said student tickets should be free, and it points out that neither Dan Guerrero nor Martin Jarmond made this move, and neither did Pete Dalis.
The comparison to 1989 also underscores how modest the old costs once were: student football tickets were $5 each, and Rooter Bus tickets were $7 each. Even now, the source says, the total price of a ticket plus a ride to the game is still a couple bucks less than it was then.
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