Football ticket prices are going up at Texas. Along with the usual expectations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s an understandable sign of the times.<\/p>\n
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Athletic director Chris Del Conte<\/a> delivered the news during his annual town hall address<\/a> Wednesday. The 7% hike is good for the next three seasons and no one should be surprised because winning equals success and that success comes at a price. Want to complain? It\u2019s fine to vent behind closed doors, but let\u2019s keep it real here, Texas fan.<\/p>\n Texas athletic director Chris del Conte walks the sideline during the game against Vanderbilt at Darrell K Royal\u2013Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 in Austin.<\/p>\n Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n You have three choices: Invest in a larger flat screen. Become a regular at Scholz Garten this fall. Or, if you’re a true diehard, tighten up a belt loop or two, take your wife\u2019s hand and say, \u201cHoney, let\u2019s not go to Hawaii this summer. A week in Port Aransas will do us just fine. We don\u2019t want to miss out on a title run.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE CED: Augie effect still lives in Texas baseball<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Besides, if you don\u2019t re-up, someone will be there to take your place. Del Conte said the wait list for season tickets is at 11,000 and climbing, a subtle flex directed at anyone who would like to step aside and give up theirs.<\/p>\n It\u2019s called supply and demand.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sign up for Ced\u2019s Corner<\/p>\n Sign up for Cedric Golden\u2019s newsletter<\/a> for hot takes and expert analysis each Tuesday on Texas Longhorns football and beyond. \u00a0It’s called Ced\u2019s Corner, from the mind of the American-Statesman\u2019s resident sports columnist, the 2025 NSMA Texas Sportswriter of the Year.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Del Conte, with the blessing of UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife and UT President Jim Davis, is crafting a juggernaut and is deftly navigating the changing business model of college athletics. This is the transfer portal\/NIL era and winning big comes at a cost.\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas is undergoing an athletic boom<\/p>\n It\u2019s no longer about just being the best recruiter \u2014 and Texas has elite recruiters in its sports \u2014 but about fit and allure that will attract 17-year-old boys and girls and talented transfers to campus. It\u2019s why the swanky indoor practice facility is on schedule to open this summer with grass at Royal-Memorial Stadium <\/a>a possibility in a couple of years. It\u2019s why volleyball is getting a Mini Moody, a new arena to replace the venerable but outdated Gregory Gym. It\u2019s why\u00a0softball\u2019s\u00a0McCombs Field<\/a> is up for renovation and expansion. It’s why UFCU Disch-Falk Field is modernizing its locker room and replacing its surface in a couple of years.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n MORE CED: Portal, NIL were needed but college football lost its way<\/a><\/p>\n And the big one: eventual housing for athletes similar to an Olympic Village, which is another enticement for the nation\u2019s best to consider the 512. Del Conte didn\u2019t provide any details. He didn\u2019t have to say it will cost a ton of money to make it happen.<\/p>\n “We are going to make sure that we are always a destination for the top high school kids,\u201d Del Conte said. \u201cBut we’re also going to have to sprinkle in portal kids along the way. Texas will always be high school heavy, but you’re going to have to have some experience in there.”<\/p>\n Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian and Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) celebrate after winning the Red River Rivalry against the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday Oct. 11, 2025 in Dallas, Texas.<\/p>\n Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n Football, of course, is the driving force. The Longhorns are box office and are on the short list of teams expected to compete for a national championship this fall. Quarterback\u00a0Arch Manning<\/a> will enter the season as a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. He was a money player down the stretch and the perfect representative of where the program is trying to go, on and off the field. Head coach\u00a0Steve Sarkisian<\/a> is still seeking that breakthrough to the title game after losing twice in the CFP semis.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n As far as the bank is concerned, the greenbacks will continue to roll in and the Horns will spend it freely because the revenue stream that comes with being a major player in an elite football conference performing in front of 100,000-plus every home game is akin to soft-drink refills at Red Robin. Bottomless.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t worry about Texas losing money<\/p>\n The Horns will receive only $12.1 million in a conference payout while the SEC is doling out $60 million more to 14 other schools per an agreement reached when Texas and Oklahoma left the Big 12 early for the 2024-25 football season. It was expected and the department budgeted accordingly, Del Conte said.<\/p>\n MORE HORNS: Texas women take down LSU<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Horns, who lost $26.7 million during the 2025 fiscal year according to charts\u00a0Del Conte shared, will recoup soon enough.<\/p>\n Football turned a $106.9 million profit and that number will increase next year with a full payout from the SEC that will be more than the $72 million the others just pocketed.<\/p>\n Increasing ticket prices isn\u2019t personal, Longhorn Nation. It\u2019s business. Football is the cash cow and the smart consumer understands why the cost of that burnt orange milk has gone up a bit. That includes the annual Red River Rivalry matchup with Oklahoma, where season ticket-holders will have to pony up $250 per Cotton Bowl seat. CDC explained the increase is due to the Horns adding a seventh home game with the SEC going to a long overdue nine-game conference schedule.\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian celebrates with his team after beating Texas A&M Aggies 27-17 during the first half of an NCAA college football game in the Lone Star Showdown in Austin, Texas, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.<\/p>\n Ricardo B. Brazziell\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n As far as nonconference, Ohio State is coming in to conclude the home-and-home series on Sept 12 and the Horns will host Michigan in 2027. Those are prime matchups that come with a degree of risk when it comes to the team\u2019s playoff hopes, but the impact generated when playing fellow football factories cannot be measured in just dollars (though the coffers will be bursting at the seams for those two games).<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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