Renewing NC State football season tickets? Don’t be surprised by policy changes
The N.C. State football season ticket renewal deadline is fast approaching, and longtime fans may be in for a surprise if they haven’t filled out their renewal requests. But, the university said, they shouldn’t be.
The Wolfpack’s season ticketing policies for the 2025 football season, in a plan called Pack Forward, now share similarities with other power programs. Fans must now make donations for certain seats in addition to new variable ticket prices, all dependent on location. Most parking passes include a required donation as well.
Fans will be able to select their seats based on their Wolfpack Club priority rank. The higher their Wolfpack Club rank, the sooner they can select seats.
N.C. State athletic director Boo Corrigan and Wolfpack Club executive director Ben Broussard said in an informational video that the changes were made in an attempt to elevate Wolfpack athletics without contributing to donor fatigue and ensuring accessibility for multiple budgets.
“We understand that it can be hard for some people. We want to work with them. With regards to that, we want to provide enough price points for different people to stay involved,” Corrigan said. “We want those people that like to sit (with) their tailgating family, or their seat family, or whatever it is — want to make sure that we’re able to capture that, as well, as we go forward.”
Corrigan and Broussard said it’s important to maintain transparency and communication.
For more than 20 years, faculty and staff ticket holders had an assigned section near the 50-yard line at Carter-Finley Stadium. Under the Pack Forward initiative, faculty and staff still receive a 20% discount, but they no longer have an assigned section.
Some in the N.C. State donor community don’t feel like the faculty and staff were treated fairly in the rollout, saying the system wasn’t particularly clear and people did not fully understand the new policies until they began applying for ticket renewals.
They say there should have been a separate notification issued to the faculty and staff about the changes before the plan’s implementation. They said they wished faculty and staff would have been encouraged to join the Wolfpack Club sooner to ensure a higher priority — many are not members — or received right of first refusal, staying in the spots if they paid full price.
An N.C. State athletics spokesperson said in a statement that the planning committee evaluated different options during the development process but there was not a “one size fits all” for individual preferences.
“Each of our fans have their own ideas as to what are the ‘best seats’ or ‘best parking spot,’ so the plan puts the choice into fans’ hands,” the statement said. “They can pick their locations, and maintain those locations in three-year cycles, rather than being told they can only sit in one or two sections.”
The university also maintains it provided multiple forms of notification since the June launch to ensure fans were not surprised when it came time to renew.
Development of Pack Forward began more than three years ago. It worked with administrators and staff members in the athletic department, the Wolfpack Club, and used analysis from a third-party sports data firm, according to information from a university spokesperson.
Pack Forward launched June 4, with a letter from Corrigan and Broussard and links to the website. Wolfpack Club members and non-donating fans received information at the same time.
The athletic department created ongoing campaigns about Pack Forward and season ticket renewals, which were used on social media, email, stadium graphics and the athletic department website. Additionally, it sent “targeted emails to different segments of our football population (after the launch) with details of how that would affect them directly.”
Wolfpack Club donors received additional notifications.
What else changed with Pack Forward?
N.C. State football introduced variable ticket pricing, depending on the location of the seats, and it requires a donation to the Wolfpack Club for most seats in the stadium.
The base price of season tickets ranges from $400 to $500. Donation requirements range from $0 to $250. That means season ticket prices range from $400 to $750. The donation prices are listed separately, because lifetime rights and multi-year rights ticket holders are not required to pay the additional donation. The donation does not make someone an active Wolfpack Club member, but it counts toward an individual’s lifetime giving total and their priority rank.
Previously, season tickets all had the same base price. There were no donation requirements.
Pack Forward’s donation requirement is not new in the college football world. Multiple members of the ACC, including North Carolina, Boston College and Clemson, have similar requirements. Smaller programs like Appalachian State and James Madison include donations for at least some sections of their stadiums.
Parking passes are all $150. Certain lots require specific donations ranging from $0 to $350, depending on the lot. Faculty and staff receive a complimentary parking permit, but they will be required to pay the space donation fee.
Funding will be allocated annually depending on the athletic department’s needs at the time. They will cover student-athlete support, facilities improvements and game-day amenities. The deadline to complete renewal requests is Dec. 1.
“We looked at what dozens of programs across the country offer; however, we built a model to uniquely fit N.C. State’s current needs and benefits of our fans,” the university said.
