TCU AD vows students will have same number of tickets as always for football games
TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati said he is committed to taking care of students during the upcoming football season.
Assuming there’s a season and fans are allowed inside Amon G. Carter Stadium this fall, Donati said, the department will allocate the standard 4,500 tickets for students.
As of now, the state of Texas is allowing outdoor venues such as TCU’s football stadium to hold up to 50% capacity. For TCU, that would be approximately 23,000 fans.
“We’ve made a pact. We’re going to provide the student section the same number of seats as we have in the past,” Donati said during an interview Wednesday night on 103.3 FM KESN with Chuck Cooperstein and Mike Peasley.
“We’re a tuition-based school. We want kids to come back and have experiences and a big part of that is going to sporting events, particularly football games. We will find 4,500 seats in the stadium for them to fill.”
Donati said the school continues to work through plans on how to fairly allocate tickets with a limited capacity, but said it would rely mostly on its priority points system.
TCU and other colleges will benefit from seeing how other stadiums handle limited capacity crowds, too. TCU will have representatives at Texas Motor Speedway next month as it opens its doors to fans for the NASCAR race on July 19.
“That will be a huge indicator as to whether we as a society are ready for that type of event with these type of social distancing restrictions,” Donati said. “We’re going to accommodate as many fans as possible and as fairly as possible.”
Other notable takeaways from Donati’s radio interview:
▪ Donati said individuals within the athletic department have tested positive for the coronavirus, but said it’s “not that many,” and the department plans to keep exact numbers in house.
▪ Donati reiterated his message to student-athletes returning to campus about the importance of social distancing and other preventative measures: “The healthiest teams are going to have a chance to play for the biggest prizes.”
▪ Donati said the school has athletes sign a code of conduct, which acknowledges the risk that comes with COVID-19, but does not have a specific waiver for the pandemic. “Everyone is going to accept responsibility and assume some risk.”
▪ Donati said the football opener at Cal on Sept. 5 is “on” despite the surging coronavirus numbers in Texas and California. “Right now, it’s full steam ahead to be at Berkeley on Sept. 5 and to play the game.”
▪ Donati said the goal among college ADs is to play the football season in the fall, while acknowledging there could be disruptions that shorten or delay the season. “We need to exhaust every opportunity to play the season in the fall.”
