A University of Maryland student who makes it all the way through Saturday’s game against Illinois in College Park could walk away with a tuition prize worth roughly up to $8,000.
The school says one student will receive free tuition for the Spring 2027 Semester if they stay for the entire game, with the drawing set for the Halloween matchup at the football stadium.
Rachel Palmer, the assistant athletic director for fan development and marketing at UMD, said the idea was built around one problem the school has been trying to solve for a while.
"The idea actually started over the summer, so a bunch of us got together to brainstorm ideas of how we can get students to stay until the fourth quarter of our football games," said Rachel Palmer, the assistant athletic director for fan development and marketing at UMD. "We've tried a lot of things over the years, raffling off premium giveaways, contests and ultimately landed on this idea of a tuition raffle."
Students who want a shot at the prize have to claim their student ticket, scan it at the gate and then use a QR code that will appear on the video board during the game to enter. From there, five finalists will be chosen at random and brought onto the field in the fourth quarter, where one will be awarded the tuition.
The university says the prize value is tied to undergraduate in-state tuition and that it will honor that amount no matter the winner’s residency status.
The timing adds another layer to the event. Maryland is also staging its second annual Oktoberfest game, complete with German-inspired touches inside the stadium.
Palmer said fans will get hats, along with Oktoberfest beer specials and souvenir cups. And because the game falls on Halloween, the school is mixing in a second theme as well, with trick-or-treating at fan fest before kickoff and costume contests planned.
Students already sounded willing to stick around for the chance at the payoff.
"You best believe I'll be staying at the game the whole time, hello, I want that free tuition," said UMD Freshman, Allison Reinhart. "(Our football team isn't) the best and we've had a rough few games and so I think they're really trying to pursue us to stay."
"I actually wasn't planning on going to the game, but I guess now I am," said Obi Mortanya, a freshman at UMD. "Well, we're not really that good so there's not a big reason to stay but I guess that's incentive."
Maryland enters the game 2-5 and has not won since Sept. 12. Kickoff is set for noon on Saturday, October 31.
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