Oregon State imposing ticket fee to help cover payouts to athletes

Published 10:44 pm Monday, February 10, 2025

When Tennessee announced last fall that it was adding a 10% talent fee to its 2025 season tickets to help with proposed revenue sharing with athletes, many people wondered when other schools would join.

Count Oregon State among that group.

The Beavers are adding a $3 “Student-Athlete Enrichment Fee” to each football ticket and parking pass for the 2025 season. The money will go towards the school’s revenue-sharing plan with athletes that is expected to begin in July.

For season ticket holders buying a seven-game package, the additional fee is $21. Season parking passes are also subject to the $3 enrichment fee.

If Oregon State sells an average of 28,000 tickets per game next season, plus parking passes — students are allotted approximately 6,000 tickets in 35,548-seat Reser Stadium — it could generate approximately $600,000 in additional revenue.

The fee is also included on tickets to all Oregon State home sporting events. With basketball and baseball games attracting a combined 250,000-300,000 fans, and other sports, that could raise more than $1 million, counting football.

Oregon State is automatically married to the House settlement that goes into effect in July, provided it is approved, because of its prior association to the Pac-12. OSU is looking to raise several million dollars that will go toward revenue sharing with its athletes.

Athletic director Scott Barnes declined to say how much revenue Oregon State plans to share with its athletes. Barnes said the final annual number will grow throughout the year based on “our philanthropic efforts, our revenue generation and the market.”

It won’t reach the $20.5 million cap.

“There will be more schools that don’t reach that than do,” Barnes said. “We will be competitive and relevant against those schools that we’ve always recruited against. That’s our goal.”

Oregon State sold some 16,000 football season tickets last year for seven home games. This year’s schedule includes seven home games, but unlike 2024, doesn’t have Oregon. But the 2025 schedule does include three Power 4 schools in California, Houston and Wake Forest.

Barnes is confident Oregon State can match last year’s season ticket sales. He said OSU’s goal is “85 to 90% renewal. If you can hit 90%, you’re literally in growth mode.”

Oregon State played each of its 12 games last year on Saturdays. Barnes does not expect that to be the case for 2025. He expects one game to be played on a Friday, or a day other than Saturday.

Decisions about playing times and game days won’t be made until the Pac-12 hears from television and streaming partners about media rights. Barnes said, “as we move into spring, we’ll have clarity.”

There hasn’t been a delay regarding a media rights offer, Barnes said. Told Oregon State fans are understandably nervous after going through the Pac-12 media right mess, Barnes said “we’re on track. We’re not delayed. We’re coming out of the holidays. Our target timeline was later this spring. We’re in that ballpark.”

Barnes was asked about this possible scheduling scenario: a Wednesday before Thanksgiving game at Washington State. Currently, the game is scheduled for Saturday, November 29. Oregon State has a bye the previous week. Washington State would need to maneuver its Nov. 22 game against James Madison. But a Nov. 26 game would give OSU-WSU a prime national TV window with no expected competition from others in college football.

Barnes said he hadn’t thought about that possibility.

“But, to be open-minded enough to consider out of the box opportunities? 100%,” he said.