It was a sun-splashed, gorgeous Norman Rockwell-type September Saturday afternoon, uniquely perfect for college football. Accordingly, we decided to take the two-hour drive to Alfred, New York, to watch grandson Tucker’s Juniata College Eagles in action. While the results were not what we had hoped for, as the host Saxons won handily, it was a beautiful, inexpensive getaway.
The tally included a half-tank of gas, $3.00 admission, concession stand hot dogs and free parking. On the drive home, we heard from friends who had driven to PNC Park for a Pirates game defeat and gathered results of Lycoming College’s 70-7 dismantling at the hands of defending national champion Cortland. A collective 0-3 on the rooting scale.
As Penn State had the week off, I wondered how Nittany Lion fans were spending their money-saving Saturday. For many, small college football or Pirates baseball may not measure up to the Happy Valley tailgate experience, but as novelist Margaret Wolfe Hungerford wrote in an 1878 work, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”
As this is being written ahead of last Saturday’s PSU’s anticipated drubbing of the Kent State ‘money-makers’ (more on that to follow), a lot of greenbacks are willingly deposited at the Beaver Stadium money-pit by loyal followers regardless of the opposition.
Penn State sells its tickets directly through Ticketmaster, which uses a dynamic pricing model that raises prices based on seat location and overall demand for each game. Fans will pay more for games against big-name opponents than for PSU’s first two home games (Bowling Green and Kent State), which started at $55 and $60. Upcoming games against Ohio State and Washington have already exceeded $275 through the Ticketmaster system, which is the only option to purchase tickets directly from the source.
Your vehicle will also be price gouged. Kent State parking privilege started at $60 but will rise to $80 when UCLA and Washington come to town. But as Hungerford’s rationale decrees, paying for wins beats paying for losses.
Enter Kent State, statistically major college football’s worst-ranked program going into last Saturday’s game. They are happily getting their butt-kicked in exchange for big bucks heading back to Ohio.
Kent State’s athletic department is obviously financially savvy but unconcerned about what happens to their team on the football field. Following the Penn State game, the Golden Flashes will have collected $4.05 million in guarantees from their three FBS opponents. In three road games against Pitt, a 55-24 loss (1.1 million), Tennessee, losing 71-0 (1.4 million), and Penn State (1.6 million) have been added to their coffers.
Paying for victories (although Bowling Green gave the Nits a major scare) is a frequent practice for Franklin’s follies. Bowling Green received a $1.5 million payday for its September 7th game in State College. According to the NCAA, Bowling Green had $3.6 million overall football-related revenue in 2023.
Penn State has plenty of big-time companies shelling out dough for visiting teams. During week three of the current season, seven teams besides Kent State received more than $ 1 million to take their show on the road. The list included: New Mexico ($1.9 from Auburn); Arkansas State ($1.8 from Michigan); UTSA ($1.7 from Texas); Ball State ($1.5 from Miami); Memphis ($1.3 from Florida State); Nevada ($1.2 from Minnesota); and Toledo ($1.2 from Mississippi State.
Sometimes, investments made in hopes of glory prove to be unwise. Both Memphis and Toledo pocketed the money and ran home, taking 20-12 and 41-17 victories over Florida State and Mississippi State with them.
College football remains intensely popular, although the 2021 Supreme Court ruling stating the NCAA was not legally allowed to limit any education-related payments to students has, for all practical purposes, made the game amateur in name only. While players can now gain from the NIL (name, image, and likeness) and the opening of the transfer portal, the costs involved are passed along to the consumer.
Those of us who enjoy attending sporting events shoulder the costs to feed our appetites for experiencing the passion of the arena.
Recent surveys indicate attending an NFL game tends to be the most expensive, followed by MLB and then college football, although college costs can vary significantly depending on the team and specific game. For a family of four, the average price of an NFL game is $800, an MLB game is $253, and a college football game is $175. MLB figures list season tickets for the Chicago Cubs ($10,770) and the New York Yankees ($10,633) are the most expensive. The least expensive teams are the Pittsburgh Pirates ($4,059) and the Arizona Diamondbacks ($4,659).
Even fans electing to stay home and feed their sports addiction by watching the games on the tube cannot escape the soaring costs of sticker shock when their cable bill arrives monthly.
While we can run but not hide from the costs of the games we love, while the weather is still pleasant, give yourself a Saturday break. Turn off the TV and get out and take in a gridiron game at Lycoming, Lock Haven, or an area small college. You might like what you see, and your wallet will thank you!
