There’s something special about the college football experience. The pageantry of the games and the traditions that your favorite school engages in are always fun. And don’t forget about tailgating before the game with friends and family.
Another part of the college football experience is food, and I don’t just mean what you eat as you’re tailgating. Eating an overpriced food item and drinking a Coke or a beer is part of going to a game. College stadium concessions have evolved from just hot dogs and pretzels to more sophisticated offerings.
At the University of Georgia, my alma mater, you can find food to fit just about any taste, including well-known national and regional brands. Throughout Sanford Stadium, you can enjoy Chick-fil-A or Papa John’s Pizza in addition to the typical concession options, or you can eat Huey Magoo’s — the best chicken tenders out there — or Chicken Salad Chick. (Come to think of it, there are a ton of chicken options.)
Side note: One of the cool things that UGA does with its concessions at almost all the school’s sports is that students from different high school activities run the concession stands in exchange for a portion of the proceeds. A friend of mine heads the JROTC program at a nearby high school, and he says that the program gets tens of thousands of dollars in fundraising by working the concession stands at football games.
Concessions are big moneymakers for universities; all you have to do is look at the prices to understand that. But one school is doing something surprising: offering free concessions this fall.
Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., is a smaller school, but it competes at the highest levels in collegiate athletics. I follow the football and baseball programs on Instagram, and the hashtags #footballatthebeach and #baseballatthebeach are common, even though the school is a few miles inland from Myrtle Beach.
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This fall, Coastal Carolina is offering fans the chance to “feast for free” at Chanticleers football games. It’s the first school to offer such a radical idea.
“CCU fans who buy a ticket to the game will be able to select up to four items per concession stand visit from a menu selection of hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, and fountain drinks,” ESPN reports. “There is no limit on how many visits fans can make to the concession stands, but they must scan an app each time.”
However, ESPN notes that there’s a catch: “Alcoholic beverages, specialty items, and items from third-party vendors are not included in the promotion.”
"Our fans are the heartbeat of Teal Nation, and we're always looking for ways to elevate their game day experience," athletic director Chance Miller said in a statement Monday. "We're excited to offer free concessions this fall as a way to say thank you for the energy, passion, and support they bring to Brooks Stadium every game."
Coastal Carolina hasn’t said how much revenue its concessions generate, but ESPN says that schools with similar attendance patterns rake in an average of $250,000 in concessions revenue per game. It doesn’t take a degree in economics to see what a gamble this is. However, Coastal Carolina could make it up with modest ticket price increases; season tickets are about $30 more this year than last year, for example.
Unusual promotions aren’t new for Coastal Carolina. A few years ago, most of the football team sported mullets, and when Brigham Young University came to town, the school billed the game as “Mullets vs. Mormons.” Another promotion last year offered basketball season ticket holders a full refund if the men’s and women’s teams won a combined 35 games (it didn’t happen).
The “feast for free” promotion could pay off for Coastal Carolina. At the very least, it’ll enhance the experience for fans — which might be the point after all.
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