Washington State’s football ticket sales are tracking behind recent years, but the Cougars are still drawing a decent number for Saturday’s home opener against Duquesne.
WSU told Cougfan.com on Thursday night that 9,188 season tickets had been sold. That figure is lower than what the Cougars posted in recent seasons, though the school’s new conference and schedule make this a different kind of sales picture.
For Saturday’s 12:30 p.m. matchup with Duquesne, WSU said 23,632 tickets had been sold as of Thursday night. That’s not a massive number, but for an FCS opponent many Cougar fans likely don’t know much about, it’s also not the lowest bar the program has seen. It still tops last season’s Louisiana Tech game and the 2024 home dates against Wyoming, Utah State and Portland State.
The season-ticket numbers show the recent trend more clearly. WSU listed 9,751 season tickets in 2025, 10,222 in 2024 and 11,297 in 2023.
Those earlier seasons came with Pac-12 schedules, and 2025 also included the Apple Cup. Even so, 9,188 is a step down from where the program has been, and getting closer to 10,000 would have been the cleaner number.
AD Jon Haarlow addressed the sales picture in August, pointing to the work being done to keep fans engaged despite the challenges in the schedule. "We've been fairly consistent from last year to this year," Haarlow told CF.C in August.
"Single games on sale, we've seen a spike in that even just in the opening. So we know there's been a lot of interest in that.
The mini plans have gone really well. Also, I appreciate the creativeness of how the team has been working through that.
We know there's some challenges with the schedule this year, and I've been very forthcoming in some of my frustrations in that, certainly.
"But I think with the creativeness of what the team's been able to do with the mini packages, I think we have an extraordinarily quality home schedule with some of the opponents … We opened up the locker room, obviously the public's not in the locker room, but that's an amazing space for these student athletes. Turf is done, video board is getting really close, lights are almost fixed or done. You can have a completely new home environment in front of a team that is absolutely ready to put people on notice."
The 2026 schedule brings its own quirks, too. Duquesne may not be a major draw, and the post-Thanksgiving home game is always a tough sell. But Arizona, Fresno State and Boise State should give the Cougars a better chance to build crowds.
WSU also took a direct shot at boosting turnout this week by announcing Tuesday that all students will get free tickets to the Duquesne game, no matter which Washington State campus they attend.
That should help, especially with no holiday-weekend excuse and weather expected to cooperate, with temperatures in the 70s and plenty of sunshine.
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Still, the mixed results left the bigger question intact, and that is usually the part that matters most once the excitement of a tournament weekend fades. Washington State has flashes of strength in the lineup, but the challenge now is turning those bright spots into more consistent team production, especially with the Duck Invitational in Eugene, Oregon, coming next. [Read more 🡒]