UVA Athletics going ticketless for men’s and women’s soccer, softball, women’s lacrosse

UVA Athletics announced on Tuesday that men’s and women’s soccer, softball and women’s lacrosse are now free-admission events.

Going down the list, that means the sports requiring the purchase of a ticket are football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and men’s lacrosse.

I’m a bit surprised at the moves with women’s lacrosse and the men’s and women’s soccer, which all bring in decent revenues – each of the three were in the $1.1 million range in overall revenues in the 2023-2024 academic sports year, according to data from the Sportio.com finances database.

Just to bring this up: the UVA women’s basketball program reported a shade under $1.5 million in revenues in the 2023-2024 academic sports year.

Maybe that one’s next.

Football and men’s basketball are the only sports at UVA that ran an operating surplus in the 2023-2024 academic sports year – football at a $21.5 million surplus, and men’s basketball at a $4.6 million surplus.

A press release from UVA Athletics on this tells us that “the strategic decision was made following a thorough review of all operations to determine a comprehensive strategic plan across all 27 sport programs.”

“This strategic decision is designed to increase attendance, expand the fanbase and enhance the fan experience. We believe this initiative will strengthen the sense of community around our programs and provide greater access to the excitement of UVA Athletics,” said Tyler Jones, a deputy athletics director overseeing external operations within the athletics department.

Former season-ticket holders for men’s and women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse, and softball are being encouraged to contact the Virginia Athletics Foundation at 434-982-5555 to continue their support of UVA Athletics.