102,000 screaming fans in orange and white. The Pride of the Southland Marching Band playing Rocky Top. A host of student-athletes running through the Power T. Fireworks, flyovers, Tennessee Walking Horses, and cheerleaders.
Nothing quite describes the energy and explosiveness of Neyland Stadium on game day when the Tennessee Volunteers take Shields-Watkins Field. Cheering for their university is a student tradition and thanks to a new partnership between the Division of Student Life and Tennessee Athletics, more students were able to participate in this tradition in the 2024 football season than in previous seasons.
In addition to supervising the student section inside the stadium and staffing the student gate for entry into the stadium, the Division of Student Life has been responsible for managing student ticketing to football and men’s and women’s basketball for many years.
It’s no secret that demand for student tickets has skyrocketed the last few seasons as UT’s football success has grown. And while a ticket lottery has been in place for student football tickets for many years, the increased demand for a fixed number of student tickets left many without an opportunity to attend a game at Neyland.
After selling out all but one home game in 2022 and 2023, student ticket administrators revamped the process in the spring of 2024 to combine student tickets with the Rocky Top Rewards program operated by Tennessee Athletics. Once combined, the student loyalty program meant students were eligible to earn T-credits by attending other sporting events and some campus-wide events as well. All T-credits earned increased their chances of being selected in the lottery for a student ticket to football games. Not only did these additional avenues to T-credits increase their likelihood of purchasing football tickets, it also grew the student experience across campus and at every athletic event.
After one season of implementing the new system, some immediate rewards are easy to see. In 2023, 16,077 students were selected in the ticket lottery and awarded at least one ticket throughout the home football season. In 2024, that number grew to 21,999, which means 5,922 more students were able to attend at least one game in 2024 than 2023. This represents a 36% increase in the number of students who were able to experience Neyland Stadium on game day.
“Gaining access to TicketMaster through the partnership with Athletics really heightened the customer service experience that we could provide for our students, and our team in Student Life worked diligently to ensure students could continue accessing athletics information through the same channels as previous years,”
susannah marshman
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Leadership and Engagement
This increase is especially noteworthy since 2024’s football season was the most competitive UT football season since the 1990’s, with extremely high demand for allotted student tickets.
The changes in the system also meant upgrading to a new ticket management system to support all student ticket purchases in 2024. This change created fewer technical issues for students and streamlined the user experience for students.
“This change along with continuing to manage the student gate and assisting with the management of the student section inside Neyland resulted in a very successful season for the student ticketing
experience overall.”
When it comes to the student experience that applicants and current Vols expect, making the football gameday experience as smooth, as enjoyable, and as accessible as possible is Student Life’s priority. The division continues to seek opportunities to streamline the ticketing experience and steward university resources to further the Volunteer experience every Saturday that happens in Neyland.