Football Tickets: The Real Scoop

If you’re like one-fourth of the students on the Illinois campus, you have student season ticket vouchers in your possession. Now here’s the real scoop on how to get the best seats in the house.

The first thing you should know if that unless you are a Block-I member, all you have is a voucher for a football ticket. The voucher guarantees you a ticket, but it must be exchanged for a real ticket during the week of the game.

If you haven’t gotten your vouchers yet, they are available at the Assembly Hall.  We strongly encourage you to pick-up your tickets by Friday to avoid lines on game day.  The Athletic Ticket Office will be open this Thursday and Friday from 9 am – 5pm. 

Important Pick-Up Information:        

• Student football tickets can be picked-up at the Assembly Hall (enter at West Main Entrance).
• Student must show their UIUC ID to pick-up their tickets.
• Students will only be allowed to pick-up their own tickets.

Get your Tickets

The voucher says “redeemable Monday-Thursday at the Athletic Ticket Office,” but there is usually the Illini ticket trailer parked out on the northwest corner of the quad during each game week – you can trade in your tickets there between 9am-5pm during game week. Even better – you can give your voucher and iCard to a friend to have him or her pick up the whole group’s tickets together. This guarantees that you’ll be in the same section (see below). The ticket line can get very bogged down between class periods, and to make sure it moves swimmingly, be sure you have an iCard for each voucher you are exchanging. Also, on the bottom of the voucher there is a space to write in your UIN. Please do this before you get in line. Nobody wants to wait for your to fill in your UIN.

Additionally, if you don’t pick up your tickets Mon-Fri, you can get them on game day prior to kick-off at the white ticket booth on the east side of the Irwin Indoor Practice Facility, on the corner of Pennsylvania & Fourth.

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

Did you know there are actually 2 sections of student tickets? Did you know that if you have tickets to one section, you can’t even get to the other!? Yes, it’s quite outrageous. The first (and best) section is in the traditional “student section” – the special grand stand at the north end zone of the football field. The Block-I tickets are in the middle of this area, and the student ticket holders are in the outside sections. The north end zone tickets are given away first and are usually available Monday & Tuesday (they typically run out of north end zone tickets mid Tuesday). After the north end zone tickets are gone, the east sideline tickets are exchanged.

The other section is in the normal sideline stands, in the lower deck, near the north-east corner. These are the tickets that go after the student section is totally full. If you get a ticket for this area you cannot go visit your friends in the end-zone student section. To combat this, make sure you pick up your tickets with your friends at the same time to ensure you get the same section.

Student ID Required

Once you’ve exchanged your voucher, you have a guaranteed seat in the stadium. The ticket reads “Student ID Required.” I have had football tickets for four years now, and I have never needed my I-Card. You just walk in and give them your ticket. Most of the time it is fellow students who are taking tickets anyway. Don’t take my word, however, because the regulations may have changed this year.

Follow The Quad in the upcoming days to learn more about the ins and outs of home football games.