Preston Lin only attended one football game his first year. He said he wouldn’t have gone to any more games this year if tickets weren’t free.
But luckily for Lin, all students can now access one free ticket to each home football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball game, UCLA Athletics announced in a Wednesday email to students. Students who previously purchased a Den Pass, which provides access to football and basketball games, will be refunded by Friday.
The move comes after UCLA saw lackluster attendance at the Rose Bowl over several years. On average, 37,782 home attendees visited the Rose Bowl each game last season – its lowest mark of attendance since 1982.
[Related: UCLA announces free student tickets for all home football, basketball games]
Students will be able to access their free tickets for UCLA football’s home game against Purdue University starting Sept. 16 at 10 a.m.
Registration for football games will be available through the Central Ticket Office ticket holder site, and students can claim their free ticket for each game beginning the Monday before game week at 10 a.m. using their UCLA Logon ID, according to The Den website.
Alumna Jessica Navarrete, who graduated last year, only attended one football game last year – her first and last during her time at UCLA.
Navarrete said she would have gone to more home football and men’s and women’s basketball games had UCLA Athletics made the change sooner than Wednesday.
“It definitely would’ve boosted my opportunities to go to games and hang out with other peers,” she said.
Meileen Taw, a former member of the UCLA Spirit Squad team and a student behind the Josie Bruin mascot, said the free tickets provide exciting opportunities to attend more games at Pauley Pavilion and the Rose Bowl.
While she did not have to pay for a ticket when performing at the games, she purchased the Den Pass to attend games outside of her performances, she added.
“This option will allow our student sections to be more full and our student sections to be louder, helping to create a more exciting stadium experience and hopefully give us a home advantage so that our team feels supported,” Taw said.
Instructions for claiming men’s basketball tickets will be announced closer to the season’s start in mid-October, and policies for UCLA’s games against the University of Southern California have not yet been determined, according to The Den website.
Undergraduate Students Association Council President Jayha Buhs Jackson said she has only attended one soccer game during her time at UCLA. Now, she plans to attend football and basketball games because the free tickets ease her financial concerns as a first-generation and low-income student, she added.
Having more students at UCLA sports games can bring the community together and increase school spirit, Buhs Jackson said.
Chloe Rodriguez, a third-year political science and psychology student, said that beyond the announcement of free tickets, transportation is another priority when she considers attending football games. She added that she hopes UCLA improves the process for booking a ticket for the Rooter Bus, a transportation service that brings students from campus to the Rose Bowl, which costs $15-$20 per game.
Rodriguez said she would like UCLA to embed the Rooter Bus booking into the Central Ticket Office site for students to check out tickets and transportation at the same time.
“I found it hard to find where the Rooter Bus was and where to pay for it,” she said.
Lin said he hopes UCLA Athletics also makes the entrance process for games more efficient by allowing students to use their BruinCards to enter games.
Buhs Jackson said she hopes event faculty continue to prioritize student safety while navigating crowd management. She added that she hopes UCLA pays equal attention to other campus issues – including supporting the university’s childcare services – as it does with sports.
“I’m very grateful that they’re doing this, but I’m not understanding their priorities,” she said.
Jazmin Balbuena, a fourth-year sociology student, said she took sports into consideration when applying to colleges because the games can bring the school together. She added that the free tickets are exciting but wishes the change came before purchasing her ticket to the Saturday game.
Students and faculty should be excited about the potential boost in school spirit this year, Taw said.
“The whole school can share in the excitement of the possibility of more Bruin fans coming out to support the athletics department and just show school spirit together,” she said.
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