UK’s Student Ticketing Process for Football, Men’s Basketball Goes Mobile

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 14, 2018) — The process for University of Kentucky students to attend home games is about to become easier. UK Athletics is implementing mobile student ticketing for football and men’s basketball games beginning this season.

The new student ticketing process was developed based on regular feedback from students asking for mobile ticketing options and easier access to tickets. UK Athletics also consulted data from the Southeastern Conference’s annual fan experience surveys, in addition to site visits with peer institutions and meetings with UK Student Government Association, the Dean of Students Office, the President’s Office and Ticketmaster.

“Our students are the heartbeat of our crowd and their attendance is absolutely essential to creating the best possible home-field and home-court advantage,” Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart said. “Our goals in implementing this new system are to modernize our student ticketing process and use technology to make it as easy as possible for our students to purchase tickets and attend games. We appreciate the feedback of our students and the partnership of many on campus to make this possible.”

UK has partnered with Experience (www.expapp.com) — with whom UK has partnered to offer the popular Kentucky Football Pocket Pass in recent seasons — to transform the student ticketing process. This new mobile system will allow students to both purchase and access tickets more easily using a mobile device, meaning they will no longer have to visit the UK Ticket Office or participate in lotteries to secure tickets. Students will also no longer enter Kroger Field and Rupp Arena using paper tickets, instead claiming mobile tickets to each home game during a designated window through the UK Athletics app.

“Thank you to UK Athletics for including Student Government in the development of the new student ticketing process,” UK Student Government President Michael Hamilton said. “We believe that the changes will increase attendance at sporting events by streamlining the process by which students buy and claim their tickets. Although we will miss the tradition of the lottery at Memorial Coliseum, ultimately this move will alleviate the burden of the process previously in place and allow students to more easily do what they love — cheer on the Cats!”

UK will also now offer the following ticketing options to create added flexibility for students:

• BBN Student Football Pass ($35): This season pass will guarantee admission for all home football games in 2018, provided the student claims a ticket during specified windows. The BBN Student Football Pass offers savings versus buying single-game tickets, which would cost $70 for all games.
• BBN Student Pass ($175): This season pass will guarantee admission for all home football and men’s basketball games in 2018-19, provided the student claims a ticket during specified windows. It also comes with a Team Wildcat membership (T-shirt and other membership benefits). Students are also able to purchase the BBN Student Pass through a two-installment, no-interest payment plan. The BBN Student Pass offers savings versus buying single-game tickets, which would cost $270 for all games.
• BBN Student Pass Plus ($200): This season pass will guarantee admission for all home football and men’s basketball games in 2018-19, provided the student claims a ticket during specified windows. The price includes a $25 K Fund donation that will come with five K Fund bonus points so students can begin to “Invest In Blue.” In addition to the Team Wildcat membership that comes with the regular BBN Student Pass, the BBN Student Pass Plus comes with a tumbler, access to an exclusive facility tour, and priority access to postseason football and men’s basketball tickets, based on availability. Students are also able to purchase the BBN Student Pass Plus through a two-installment, no-interest payment plan. The BBN Student Pass Plus offers savings versus buying single-game tickets, which would cost $270 for all games.
• Single-Game Tickets: A limited number of single-game tickets will still be available for purchase for students who do not wish to purchase a season package or are unable to do so. All single-game football and men’s basketball tickets will cost $10 apiece. Guest tickets will still be available after students have access to purchase tickets, based on availability. These are specially priced tickets for guests of UK students that do not require a student ID for admission.

Admission to all other regular season UK Athletics events besides football and men’s basketball games will remain free. Students will continue to be able to show their valid UK student ID at the entrance for seating in select general admission areas, while supplies last.

Season passes will be available for purchase exclusively online at http://UKStudentTix.com, beginning 9 a.m. ET, July 17. During the season, students will be able to access their pass through the UK Athletics app, available for free download through the App Store and Android Marketplace. Pass purchasers will then be prompted to claim a mobile ticket during a designated window prior to each home game. More information about the claim process will be made available later this summer.

Single-game student tickets will be available for purchase through the UK Athletics app. Single-game inventory will be made up of tickets held for single-game sales and tickets unclaimed by season pass holders.

On game days, students with both season passes and single-game tickets will be given a wristband or seat location upon arrival. This will allow students that claim the same areas and enter the venue together to sit together. Tickets may be electronically transferred to other UK students through the UK Athletics app to allow greater flexibility.

There will be no changes to the student ticket allotment for football games. Men’s basketball will see no impact to lower-level student seating. Upper-level seating will continue to be adequate to meet the demand for student tickets as measured in recent seasons, while considering construction impacts for the upcoming renovation to Rupp Arena.

Students are also encouraged to download BBN Rewards, the official student rewards app of UK Athletics. Students will be able to earn more through BBN Rewards by checking into events, accumulating points and redeeming those points for great rewards, including Nike gear, exclusive UK Athletics experiences and more. The BBN Rewards leaderboard will also be used to establish men’s basketball ticket claim priority.

Full-time University of Kentucky students as well as Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC) students living in UK Campus Housing with a valid UK student ID are eligible to receive student ticket pricing and benefits. The University of Kentucky defines full-time status as:

• 12 credit hours (undergraduate) or
• nine credit hours (graduate).

With mandatory student fees decreasing and the student athletic fee being redirected away from UK Athletics and back on campus, student ticket eligibility will now be determined solely based on full-time status. Students will no longer be assessed athletic fees. 

For more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the new process, visit https://UKStudentTix.com or contact the UK Ticket Office at 800-928-2287 or studenttickets@uky.edu.