Chris McIntosh on lower ticket sales for Wisconsin football
UW-Madison Athletic Director Chris McIntosh considers impacts of a decline in Wisconsin Badgers football season ticket sales for the 2025 season and the significance of that revenue to the university.
By Zac Schultz | Here & Now
January 26, 2026 • South Central Region
Chris McIntosh on impacts of a decline in Wisconsin Badgers football season ticket sales.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Zac Schultz:
When you look at the revenue coming in, ticket sales make up approximately 19% of the revenue. The numbers are a year behind for what we have. We know that ticket sales were down last year, that there were fewer fans in the stands. Can Wisconsin sustain a loss of season ticket holders when it comes to the revenue portion of this?
Chris McIntosh:
Well, I think there's a few things that are worth noting. One, we've had an uptick over the last three years in our ticket revenue and our ticket sales. That goes against what is kind of a national trend across college athletics. While the ticket sales went down last year, that is concerning to us. We feel like we need to earn those ticket holders, their share of wallet, and their time and their dedication. And it's our hope that this season they'll see the same optimism that we see, and they'll see the same team on the field that they've grown accustomed to over the course of decades. But there's no getting around the fact that, you know, football — football at University of Wisconsin — that's the financial engine that underwrites the cost of opportunity for all of our sports, all 23 of our sports, north of 700 athletes. And so, it's incredibly important, and it's something that we continue to work on. Our ticket sales will be going on sale this week, and there are a lot of people dedicated to the idea of making sure that our fans are able to connect with this program and experience it.
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