• Wisconsin Athletics Donor Guide |  Ticket FAQ
BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — The 2016 college football season opener pitting Wisconsin vs. LSU could be played anywhere on the planet and it would be a marquee event.
Powerhouse schools from the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences rarely make time for one another outside of bowl games, so when they do the national spotlight is going to be intense regardless of where the meeting takes place.
This is one of those moments when the venue makes the contest ultra-special.
UW will play the Tigers in Green Bay on Sept. 3 in the Lambeau Field College Classic, marking the first time a major college game will be played at the legendary 59-year-old NFL shrine.
"Tradition-rich Lambeau," Wisconsin Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez said. "You mention that name and people's eyes light up."
Though it will be played in the state and 150 miles from Madison, it is classified as a neutral-site game. The format is similar to 2014 when UW opened the season playing the Tigers at NRG Stadium in Houston.
A sellout crowd of 71,599 saw LSU rally for a 28-24 victory over the Badgers two years ago, but it's expected that tickets to the rematch will be much harder to come by at 80,735-seat Lambeau Field.
According to a dispersal plan drawn up by Packers officials, Wisconsin will get 40,000 tickets, LSU 20,000 and the NFL club will control the rest, which consists mostly of premium seating (suite and club seat). Ticket prices range from $91 to $118. Student tickets will cost $48.
UW has approximately 17,400 donor and football season ticket holder accounts and Alvarez said the goal is to "try to get as many of our season ticket holders an opportunity to buy a ticket as possible."
"We think we have a plan that will do that," he said. "We will not be able to accommodate all of them, but the majority of them will have access to tickets.
"We're very sensitive to our season ticket holders. They've been loyal and we want to give them an opportunity to purchase tickets."
UW Athletic Board policy dictates that a percentage of tickets be made available to students, which translates to 7,500. Approximately 2,800 tickets will be set aside for internal needs — players' families, staff, the UW Marching Band and the Wisconsin Alumni Association — leaving an estimated 29,700 for donors and those with season tickets.
The ticket request and allocation process for Badgers fans will be based on annual giving level, priority points within that giving level and season ticket-holder status as of April 30, 2016. To learn more about the allocation process, fans can view the Wisconsin Athletics Donor Guide.
This marks the third straight season the Badgers will open with a neutral-site game against an opponent from the SEC. In addition to the loss to LSU in '14, they dropped a 35-17 decision to eventual national champion Alabama at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, last September.
All three games were negotiated separately, according to Alvarez, who added there are multiple benefits to playing them at neutral sites.
"I think it sends a message that we want to schedule stronger," he said. "Our league has made a commitment that we're going to improve our non-conference games.
"I think it's healthy. I think it's good for our players and staff to really focus in the offseason. I think that it's fun for our fans — especially this one because you're playing in-state."
Alvarez said there have been preliminary talks with the Packers about playing future neutral-site games at Lambeau Field. UW currently has an opening for its 2018 season opener.
"It's easier to get a neutral-site game," Alvarez said. "Some schools don't want to play a home-and-home. They'd rather do a one-year deal than home-and-home."
Alvarez said multiple Power Five schools have expressed an interest in having a home-and-home series with the Badgers and he'll continue to pursue such an arrangement.
Neutral-site opportunities provide flexibility at a time when the Big Ten is moving from an eight-game schedule to a nine-outing format. UW bases its annual budget on staging seven home games at Camp Randall Stadium, but there will be years when there will only be four league games at home instead of five, and that revenue void needs to be filled.
Demand for Wisconsin-LSU tickets figures to rival the moment in 2011 when Nebraska made its highly-anticipated Big Ten debut at Camp Randall.
Fans of the Cornhuskers began arriving in Madison four days before the game. There were so many of them that they rented out Union South for a viewing party and UW officials obliged the throng by setting up a theater area outside the stadium for those who couldn't get tickets.
If there's similar interest from LSU fans, accommodations could possibly be made at the Resch Center across the street from Lambeau. That decision would involve Green Bay president Mark Murphy and his staff.
"We'll have to see how tickets go and what the demand is," Alvarez said. "If it makes sense, that's something we'd look into.
"The Packers have been great. Murph and his whole crew have been easy to work with. They've always been very cooperative with us and I look forward to working with them."
The Badgers have played football games elsewhere in the state going back to 1889 — Beloit, Marinette and Milwaukee — but never in Green Bay.
The Wisconsin men's hockey team played an outdoor game at Lambeau Field in 2006, but that's it.
Alvarez said he's spoken with many of his former players who played in the NFL and count a visit to Lambeau as one of their career highlights.
"There's so much tradition there," he said. "It's going to be fun."
WISCONSIN vs. LSU — FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: When will the Wisconsin-LSU game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay be played?
A: Saturday, September 3, 2016
Q: What time is kickoff?
A: Game time is yet to be determined. Once known, it will be posted on UWBadgers.com.
Q: When will tickets go on sale?
A: We do not anticipate a general public on sale for this game. Tickets may be requested by donors to Wisconsin Athletics and UW football season ticket holders through the normal football season ticket holder order process. That process runs from mid-March through April 30. For more information on that process, please contact the UW Athletic Development Office (608-262-1000 or development@uwbadgers.com) or the UW Athletic Ticket Office (608-262-1440 or tickets@uwbadgers.com).
Q: What is the deadline to be eligible as a donor/football season ticket holder and make a request for tickets to this game?
A: April 30, 2016
Q: What is the price of the tickets and who set the ticket prices?
A: Ticket prices range from $91 to $118. Student tickets will cost $48. The ticket prices were determined by the Green Bay Packers.
Q: How many tickets does each team get?
A: Because this is a neutral site game and not a Wisconsin home game, Wisconsin's ticket allotment is 40,000, LSU gets 20,000 and the rest (mostly suite and club seat) belong to the Packers.
Q: Who determined those ticket allotments?
A: The Packers.
Q: Where will the Badgers' ticket allotment be located?
A: Wisconsin's ticket allotment location will be released at a later date. The team will occupy the west sideline for the game.
Q: What's the seating capacity for Lambeau Field?
A: 80,735.
Q: Will Wisconsin students have access to tickets?
A: In accordance with UW Athletic Board policy, 7,500 tickets will be made available to UW-Madison students for this game. The allocation process for those tickets will be announced soon. Student tickets will cost $48.
Q: What about the Wisconsin Band?
A: The entire UW Marching Band is expected to attend the game. There will be approximately 2,800 tickets set aside for internal needs, which include family members of the football team, university and athletic department staff, the Wisconsin Alumni Association and the band.
Q: So how big is the actual ticket pool for Wisconsin football season ticket holders and donors?
A: After removing student tickets and tickets used for internal purposes, approximately 29,700 tickets are available for donors to Wisconsin Athletics and UW football season ticket holders.
Q: Donor example: I'm a Champion's Club donor, which means I have or I plan to give between $10,000 and $14,999 to Wisconsin Athletics by April 30. According to the chart provided, I'll get a maximum of six tickets, right?
A: You'll be allowed to REQUEST up to six tickets. That is the maximum amount of tickets you are eligible to purchase, however the actual quantity may be less than that depending on the number of requests received and orders processed.
Q: How will suites and club seats at Lambeau be sold for this game?
A: All suites and club seats at Lambeau Field will be made available to Green Bay Packers suite and club seat holders. Wisconsin's 40,000 tickets are all located in the bowl area.
Q: I don't have season tickets for Wisconsin football games, but have donated between $50 and $249 to Wisconsin Athletics in by April 30. Any chance I'll have access to tickets for the UW-LSU game?
A: At the direction of Wisconsin Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez, an emphasis will be placed on assisting as many donors and season ticket-holders to purchase tickets as possible. In other words, yes. However, according to the Request and Allocation Priority Rank chart, your request of up to two game tickets would be reviewed after donors who give the same amount and are UW football season ticket holders, and after football season ticket holders (non-donors). For more information, please contact the UW Athletic Development Office (608-262-1000 or development@uwbadgers.com) or the UW Athletic Ticket Office (608-262-1440 or tickets@uwbadgers.com).
Q: I have or am planning to make a request for new UW football season tickets prior to the April 30 deadline. Will I be able to also request tickets for this game, if so how many, and where will I be ranked on the request and allocation priority rank chart?
A: You will be able to request tickets to the UW vs. LSU game at Lambeau and request 2016 new UW football season tickets on the new football season ticket holder application, available once you make a donation of $50 or more, starting in mid-March through April 30. Your request for tickets to the UW vs. LSU game will be reviewed as a 'Walk-On Club donor with Football Season Tickets' or at the appropriate giving level based on the chart.
Q: This looks like a very tough ticket. How many Wisconsin fans are in the mix for a seat?
A: Quite a few. There are approximately 13,700 season ticket holders for Badgers football and they purchase approximately 51,000 season tickets annually. Additionally, there are approximately another 3,700 donors who are not season ticket holders that are eligible to request tickets. In all, 73 percent of donors to Wisconsin Athletics have season tickets for football. A closer look shows that 87 percent of donors at the Coaches Club — an annual giving level of $1,000 and higher — have season tickets for football.
