Like many University of Oregon students, senior Maya Valverde is eager to watch the No. 3-ranked Ducks football team in action this season at Autzen Stadium.
However, for the first time during her time at Oregon, Valverde became concerned that the school’s new ticket distribution lottery system could result in not receiving a ticket to key home games in high demand, including Saturday’s showdown with No. 7 Indiana.
Her fears were realized on Monday when she learned she did not receive one of the 7,500 student tickets through a process she and others believe is unfair to seniors.
“It sucks,” Valverde said. “A good handful of my friends got a ticket, but there’s nothing I can do. I can’t sit with them.”
Those denied a ticket in the student section were offered complimentary standing-room-only tickets. However, Valverde said the experience won’t be the same as cheering with friends in the student section. She believes that no student should be denied that experience.
“We know how much money gets poured into the athletic department,” Valverde said. “That’s no secret. And so the fact that they’re willing to do this to their own students is gross.”
Her grievance, shared by many, led to a petition seeking a change to the ticket system, which had garnered just over 2,800 verified signatures as of Thursday morning.
This fall, Oregon transitioned from a first-come, first-served system, which received numerous complaints, to using a lottery to distribute student tickets.
Under the old system, students purchasing the $175 Duck Sports Pass logged into the ticket portal at 11 a.m. on Sunday, six days before the next home game. It was first-come, first-served until the supply of tickets was exhausted.
That system, however, received numerous complaints, according to Jimmy Stanton, Oregon senior associate athletic director for communications. Some students argued that the system penalized students unable to log in by 11 a.m. Sunday, because of unavoidable conflicts, such as work or studying. Others raised concerns about the wait times in the queue.
With the new system, students can request tickets in the GoDucks app starting Friday through Sunday. If demand exceeds supply, then tickets are allocated through a random lottery. Some 10,000 passes were sold for the 2025-26 school year.
The Duck crowd surfs in the student section as the No. 3 Oregon Ducks face the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in a Big Ten college football game at Autzen Stadium in Eugene on Saturday Oct. 12, 2024. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
Each drawing is random. Receiving a ticket for a given game does not diminish a student’s chances of receiving a ticket for the next game.
The petition calls for a new system weighted to give preference to seniors, then juniors, sophomores and freshmen. Valverde argues that seniors are in their final year, and students in each younger class will benefit from seeing their odds increase as they move through their academic careers at Oregon.
“As seniors, this is our last time experiencing that as students, and right now, we feel upset and we feel hurt because we know these are our last moments,” Valverde said. “And right now, we don’t get to spend them where we really want to, and it really hurts our student experience.”
One of Valverde’s friends, senior Jaymie Beers, received a ticket for the Indiana game, but finds the system that denied others to be unfair. She believes everyone who purchases a pass should be guaranteed a ticket to each football game.
“I’m a big college sports advocate,” she said. “I think that college sports are all about the students. That’s what separates college sports from professional sports … Students specifically should be the top priority.”
Duck Sports Pass holders have access to football, and men’s and women’s basketball tickets. All other sports offer free admission for students.
How universities handle student ticket demand for football games varies.
At the University of Washington, students must purchase a Dawg Pack season ticket for football and men’s basketball for $210. For football, UW sells roughly 8,000 tickets. Claims are first-come, first-served. On occasions when the student section sells out, additional seats may become available in other areas of the stadium, including obstructed view locations.
Washington State sells student passes for $299. WSU uses a first-come, first-served system for its roughly 8,000 student seats at football games. The Cougars’ student sections have rarely sold out during the past decade, according to WSU spokesperson Bill Stevens. On those rare occasions, students can purchase single tickets outside of the student section.
Penn State uses a lottery system within each class, from graduate students down to freshmen. Students pay $246 for all seven regular-season home games.
Oregon’s lottery system didn’t impact its first two home games — August 30 vs. Montana State and September 6 vs. Oklahoma State — because the fall quarter didn’t begin until Sept. 29.
The Oregon student section enjoys the last bit of afternoon sun as the No. 3 Ducks host the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in a Big Ten college football game at Autzen Stadium in Eugene on Saturday Oct. 12, 2024. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
The Sept. 20 rivalry game against Oregon State, however, landed close enough to when the majority of students began arriving on campus, leading to the student section selling out.
Valverde said she knew senior students who did not receive tickets for the Oregon State game. However, Stanton said that everyone in the portal received at least an offer for a standing-room-only ticket for both OSU and Indiana.
Valverde and Beers would like to see the system changed, or the student section in the northwest corner of the stadium expanded.
“We’re college students, so we don’t have unlimited funds. But we spent our own money, and we were really excited to go and we feel betrayed,” Valverde said.
Another complaint, according to Valverde, is that the new system wasn’t laid out until August, well after students began purchasing the student passes last spring.
“When we bought the sports pass in the spring and early summer, we were under the impression that it was the same system,” she said.
Adding insult to injury, Valverde said some students attempt to sell their student tickets immediately, which violates Oregon’s policies.
“It’s no secret that people will claim tickets and sell them,” she said.
Stanton said Oregon monitors students selling tickets as best it can, but it’s not easily trackable.
The primary concern is football. Just a handful of opportunities remain for Valverde and her senior friends to enjoy Autzen Stadium’s atmosphere.
“The energy in Autzen is something that is so special and unique to our school, and fall at U of O is such a fun time,” Valverde said.
Now she must cross her fingers in hopes that she and all of her friends get access to student tickets for the next home game on Oct. 25 against Wisconsin.
. . .. . .
No. 3 Oregon (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) vs. No. 7 Indiana (5-0, 2-0)
When: Saturday, Oct. 11Time: 12:30 p.m. PTWhere: Autzen Stadium, EugeneTV: CBS. You can watch this game live for free with Fubo (free trial), with DirecTV (free trial) or streaming live on demand with Paramount Plus.Stream: DirecTV (free trial) or Fubo (promotional offers) or Paramount+ (free trial) or Sling (college football season pass is just $199). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and dropping, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest, depending on your location.
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