Game On: Sports News, Highlights & Commentary
- Wisconsin UW Field House assigned seating prices rise, translating to 6% to 42% increases across sections.
- Courtside seats jump about 31% to $588; Silver list price increases 42%, boosting overall costs.
- Per-seat contributions remain unchanged for some tiers, so total per-seat costs still increase despite flat contributions.
- Kelly Sheffield and UW officials cite reinvestment in the program; prices still remain below Nebraska premium levels.
MADISON – The University of Wisconsin athletic department is increasing the prices of women’s volleyball season tickets at the UW Field House again in 2026.
This year’s increases in season ticket prices for assigned seating sections range from $3 to $13 per ticket per match, according to information UW officials shared with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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When looking at the list prices as a whole amid a lighter home schedule in 2026, that translates to price increases ranging from 6% to 42% for the Field House sections with assigned seating.
Season tickets in the general admission sections will cost $224 (or $16 per match) in 2026 after previously costing $225 (or $15 per match) in 2025.
Wisconsin deputy athletic director Mitchell Pinta said the latest increase in ticket prices boils down to maintaining the “incredible, sustained, continued success” that Kelly Sheffield’s program has experienced.
“Kelly’s team has proven time and time again their competitive excellence, and we want to make sure that we’re continuing to invest in this program for the ’26-27 season and beyond,” Pinta said in a phone call.
The lowest level of seats behind the team benches – the “courtside” area of sections E, F and G – will increase by about 31% from $450 in 2025 to $588 in 2026. The recommended minimum per-seat contribution will remain steady at $250, though, so the total cost per seat will rise by 20%.
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The “silver” tier of seating options – the “courtside” areas of sections Q, R and S and the higher rows of sections R and F in the lower bowl – will increase from $375 in 2025 to $532 in 2026 while the $100 minimum per-seat contribution will remain constant. That translates to a 42% increase in list price and 33% increase in overall cost.
The price for the “bronze” tier of season tickets will increase from $345 in 2025 to $420 in 2026 and continue to have a $50 minimum per-seat contribution. That’s a 22% increase in ticket price and 19% increase in total cost.
The cheapest tier of assigned seats – the “red” sections – will increase about 6% from $330 to $350 while continuing to not require any per-seat contribution.
This is not the only recent price hike for a Wisconsin volleyball program that has been to five of the last seven Final Fours. UW’s volleyball ticket revenue was almost four times higher in 2024 – the most recent season with an NCAA financial filing available – than it was in 2019 despite somewhat comparable attendance figures.
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“There have been plenty of years at previous schools that we didn’t charge; we gave tickets away,” Sheffield said ahead of his 14th season at UW. “Early on, it wasn’t much more than just giving them away here. But hopefully people sit there, and they go and watch, and they say, ‘This is better than going to see a movie. The entertainment I’m getting for this evening is more inspiring than going out to dinner.’”
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Even with the latest ticket price, Wisconsin volleyball season tickets remain substantially below what has been charged by Nebraska – the only other school with more than 7,000 fans per game in 2025. The Huskers charge $300 for the ticket itself, with per-seat contributions ranging from $50 to $450 in the upper level and from $1,000 to $5,000 in the lower level and premium areas.
“We’ve been preaching for a long time that there is value in women’s sports, and the interest is there,” Sheffield said.
Wisconsin middle blocker Alicia Andrew (17) is shown before their match against Illinois, October 2, 2025, at the UW Field House in Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin beat Illinois 3-0.
Wisconsin has several marquee opponents on the 2026 schedule although many of those matches will be away from the UW Field House. The Kentucky and Louisville matches will be at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The Pittsburgh, Stanford, Texas and Texas A&M matches will be out of state.
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UW has already announced home matches against Florida and Auburn on Sept. 2 and Sept. 3 as part of the inaugural Big Ten/SEC Challenge, and it also is UW’s turn to host Marquette in the annual rivalry that has alternated between Madison and Milwaukee. UW announced an alumni match that is included as well.
Pinta said the Badgers are working to increase the number of season tickets that are available via general admission in the nearly-century-old facility. It is not a matter of adding more sections that are general admission, but rather tinkering with the capacity of those sections.
“When you have 14 or 15 matches, not everyone’s able to make it to every match,” Pinta said. “So as we look at the amount of tickets out, what scan rates are historically and how we counter that with what the availability for single-match tickets can be, it’s like one big puzzle that we continually play around with.”
Wisconsin’s goal, Pinta said, is to “make sure that building is as full and as loud as it can be every single night.” UW’s chief revenue officer, of course, also is looking for more revenue that can continue to fuel the Badgers’ on-court success.
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“It’s that momentum, that success that we’re trying to capitalize on for this year and do everything that we can to put Kelly and his team in a position to make another Final Four run,” Pinta said.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Badgers raise volleyball season ticket prices for 2026
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