The Southeastern Conference has become a college football juggernaut in the 21st century thanks to a stable of top programs that have taken their turn at the national podium when the national championship trophy gets handed out.
Given that football is the most popular sport in North America and nothing beats winning when it comes to athletics, it should come as no surprise that the SEC’s schedule comes at a premium price. But how much, exactly, does it cost?
The USA TODAY Sports Network recently looked into how much attending a conference game costs for an average family of four. Using secondary ticket market prices for the first conference home game on each team’s schedule and utilizing our beat writers who cover the teams, USAT determined the cash value of a game day experience.
Included in the calculation were the four cheapest tickets listed by TicketSmarter.com (including all fees) if purchased on Aug. 28, the Monday before the start of the season, as well as the cheapest public parking we could find within a mile of the stadium along with four hot dogs and four sodas.
Their calculations used secondary market ticket costs because schools can sell out and have no single-game seats available to the public for certain games, and because season tickets at most schools carry various fees or donations attached beyond the ticket’s listed price that are difficult to factor into actual value of the tickets. TicketSmarter is a partner with the USA TODAY Network.
The average cost for a family of four to attend one of 14 member schools’ football games − including tickets, parking, hot dogs and sodas − was $643.47, or more than $160 per person.
Costs for four tickets to the first SEC home game for each school ranged from $207.49 for Kentucky at Vanderbilt to $1,188.73 for South Carolina at Tennessee. Defending national champion Georgia was the only other school with a cost of more than $1,000 for four tickets at $1011.36 for its SEC home opener (also vs. South Carolina).
The cost of four tickets averaged $566.57 across all 14 schools, or more than $141 per person. Florida’s ticket costs sat at $733.60.
In Gainesville, the average cost to attend a Gator game under all of the aforementioned parameters is $815.60 — $173.65 above average and the fourth-most expensive among league schools.
Calculations did not include other costs often incurred by fans including lodging for overnight stays, travel and food other than stadium concessions.
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