UCLA students will get into football and men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball games for free, the latest and most aggressive step in new CEO and athletic director Tim Harris\u2019 push to rebuild the Bruins\u2019 home crowds.<\/p>\n
Beginning with Saturday\u2019s Big Ten home opener against Purdue, all eligible UCLA undergraduate and graduate students can claim complimentary tickets to regular-season home games in all three sports, the athletic department announced Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur students are the heartbeat of UCLA,\u201d Harris said in a statement. \u201cTheir passion, energy and pride create an atmosphere that makes a difference for our student-athletes and coaches. We want as many students as possible experiencing UCLA athletics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Students who already purchased a 2026-27 Den Pass \u2014 UCLA\u2019s student season-ticket package for football and men\u2019s basketball, which cost $199 for the 2026-27 school year \u2014 will receive automatic refunds by Sept. 25. The annual pass cost $165 in 2022, while UCLA also offered incoming students a four-year version for $495 at the time.<\/p>\n
Students will now claim home football tickets through their student ticket accounts beginning the Monday of each game week. They can also purchase up to eight guest tickets for nearly all home football games besides the annual USC rivalry game. Transportation remains a separate fee, with the Rooter Bus to and from the Rose Bowl costing $15 per game or $60 for the season.<\/p>\n
The move addresses an issue Harris identified almost immediately after taking over UCLA athletics: students face an unusual collection of obstacles to attending football games, starting with the Rose Bowl sitting roughly 26 miles east of the Westwood campus.<\/p>\n
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On a recent podcast with Bruin Report Online<\/a> (BRO), Harris described those obstacles as \u201cbarriers for entry\u201d and said UCLA needed to strip away as many reasons as possible for students to stay home. Harris said he wants UCLA games to become a destination students feel they need to attend because everyone else is there.<\/p>\n \u201cI view the students not as a revenue source, but as a marketing platform,\u201d Harris said on the podcast. \u201cI view the students as part of the entire experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Once that demand exists, he said, UCLA must make the logistics \u2014 and the cost \u2014 easier. Otherwise, he said, it provides students with too many excuses to not attend.<\/p>\n That philosophy makes the timing notable. UCLA athletics is hardly in a position where revenue does not matter.<\/p>\n