By: Nate Calvin
With the school year getting underway, several area schools have arranged for students to receive free admission to athletic events this school year.
These are the schools that responded to our inquiry regarding what procedures have been put in place.
Bryan: “This came up last spring and we wanted to know how we could do it. Basically, we took our student ticket revenue and divided it by the number of weeks that we take tickets for events.”
“That gave us a number ($300) on what it would cost for someone to sponsor a week of home events for us, and we’ve reached out to area businesses to see if they would like to sponsor.”
“We have almost 20 different athletic programs at Bryan and want our students to come to as many events as they can because we feel like it gives them a positive experience, shows support towards their classmates, and instills pride in our school.”
“We did not want money to be a reason why our students didn’t come to games. You can go watch games at some schools and it will cost you over $30 to just get through the gate and that doesn’t take into account concessions or other expenses.”
“The other piece is we are lucky enough to have a gymnasium with two video boards and a recently installed video board at Golden Bear Stadium to be able to use them to showcase our sponsors to the community. Fortunately, we have had businesses and families in Bryan step up and rally around this idea.” – Athletic Director Nathan Keel.
Delta: “This year the Panther Athletic Club will sponsor a home volleyball, as well as a boys and girls basketball game, where they’ll cover the admission cost for students k-12 to attend.”
“We are currently examining our admission totals from our student fan base to determine the best course of action moving forward.”
“We appreciate our boosters for wanting to help create a positive atmosphere and a packed house for our student athletes.” – Athletic Director Walter Steele.
Edon: “All 7-12 Fall Student Athletes at Edon receive free admission to all home fall athletic events as well as winter student athletes receive free admission to all home winter athletic events. This has been done at Edon for several years in an effort to encourage multi-sport athletes.”
“The Edon Athletic Dept paid for all 7-12 grade student tickets to Varsity Football at Edgerton on 8/18/23 & is allowing all K-12 students free admission to JV/Varsity Volleyball on Monday 8/28/23 & Monday 9/18/23 for JH Volleyball.
“We are currently working with our parents’ club to allow admission for all K-12 students to all of our senior night games here at Edon.”
“It is important to get as many of our students here for athletic contests as possible. One major reason for the special nature of interscholastic athletics is the student body & community aspect that makes it unique.”
“We are working to allow opportunities for students to support their classmates while at the same time remaining fair to our fiscal responsibilities in providing exceptional experiences for our student athletes.”
“Costs at all levels have increased, from equipment, uniforms, to officials. It’s a critical balance and keeping students first is at the foremost in making these decisions.” – Athletic Director Matt Ripke.
Fayette: “We are excited to announce that ALL Fayette students, Pre-K through 12th grade, will be admitted to ALL junior high, junior, and varsity home games for FREE! All elementary students must be accompanied by an adult.”
“This is our third year offering this to our students, and we hope that they all take advantage of this great opportunity!” – Fayette Schools.
North Central: “We are allowing free entry to our entire current student body, grades K-12, to all home regular season events for the 2023-2024 school year.”
“When it comes to playoff time and needing to have digital tickets purchased for all spectators, we are not 100% sure how that will play out in terms of funding tickets so our student body can continue to support the Eagles in postseason play when we host playoff games.” – Athletic Director Michael Babin.
Swanton: “The Swanton Athletic Boosters will be paying for all Swanton students in grades 7-12 to get in free to all Swanton home events.” “The students will need to show their school ID.” – Swanton Athletic Boosters.
Wauseon: “With the help of a generous financial contribution from the Wauseon Athletic Boosters, ALL WEVS students in grades 7-12 will be able to attend all home regular season athletic contests during the 2023-24 school year FOR FREE.”
“The Athletic Boosters will re-evaluate their ability to continue with this contribution for the following year, however, it is their hope that this is an opportunity for our students to support their peers at the home athletic events for years to come.” – Wauseon Schools press release.
Both the Hilltop and Montpelier athletic departments said this is something they would like to do in the future also.
Nate can be reached at sports@thevillagereporter.com
