Liam Grangier started following IU football as a junior in high school. Now, entering his senior year at IU, Grangier and his friends saw the highs and lows of Indiana football in his last three years.
They were at a mostly empty stadium when IU needed four overtimes to beat Akron in 2023. They stormed Kirkwood after the national championship in January.
This year, they might watch their team just five times in Memorial Stadium, as IU Athletics announced a new process for student ticket distribution.
Previously, the student season ticket package included every home football game.
This season, according to an IU Athletics email, students will be limited to five games.
IU Athletics did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
The change has not been well received by students, who voiced their displeasure on social media and elsewhere.
“I will have to go buy a ticket on the secondary market and probably get gouged for money that probably I do not have, but I will most likely spend to try and go see my team,” Grangier said. “It's just very sad.”
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The new system has three selection days where students choose a total of five games.
On August 12, students can choose two games out of North Texas, Howard, and Western Kentucky.
On August 26, they will choose two out of Northwestern, Minnesota, and Purdue.
On September 30, students choose one of Ohio State or USC.
“Claims will be fulfilled based on class standing, with an equal quantity allotted for each class,” according to the IU Athletics email. This is the process for the first two claim periods, with the third being based on attendance at the September home games.
Students are given a two-day window to claim their tickets during each period. If they miss that window, IU Athletics says they will not get a second chance. Late claim submissions will not be accepted.
Fans took to social media to voice their frustration.
“Paying 450 dollars for five student tickets is insane,” one X user said. “Do better. Students who watched the team go 3-9 with Tom Allen get the same chances as a kid who was fresh out of middle school.”
Upperclassmen were the common thread in social media complaints.
“What an absolute disgrace @IndianaTix is doing to these football games. I understand the complexity that comes with being National Champions and the increased attendance to the school, but hosing the upperclassmen by not allowing them to go to every game is terrible,” another X user said.
Like his fellow students, Grangier was frustrated to learn of the new process, though grateful for the team’s growing popularity.
“Honestly, I'm happy for the team and the university that they have a student body that wants to show up and cares about the team and the program now,” Grangier said. “That was not the case and the culture my freshman year.”
