Missouri Tigers revamps ticketing system for students. It will be based on loyalty

Mizzou Athletics has announced it will implement a new system for student tickets starting in the fall of 2026.

The system will work on a loyalty basis. Those who attend home games at the start of the year will earn loyalty points for doing so. Loyalty points for every student will be tracked on a leaderboard, and those at the top of the leaderboard will get the first chance to purchase football and basketball tickets.

"We reward students who actively support Mizzou Athletics," the Mizzou Athletics website states.

Many sports will be free-entry with a student ID. Students won't need to buy tickets to get into baseball, gymnastics, volleyball, softball, women's basketball, wrestling, soccer, golf, tennis, track and field or cross country. Attending these games earn loyalty points.

The number of points attached to a student's name at the start is decided by seniority, with seniors getting priority, then juniors, sophomores and freshmen. Football and men's basketball have slightly different processes for securing a ticket.

Football

For each of the seven home games, a window to request a ticket opens eight days before game day and ends three days later. In that window, students will make an official request for a ticket.

Once the window closes, every request will be sorted into a list ranked by number of loyalty points. An email, text and push notification will be sent out to those who made the cut and are awarded the chance to buy a ticket. Those who have been selected to buy a ticket will have 24 hours to do so once they receive a link to the purchasing portal.

Tickets, which can only be purchased on a single-game basis, will range from $10 to $50. The average ticket price sits at $20 to $30, according to Mizzou Athletics.

If, after that 24-hour period, there are tickets remaining, they will be offered to the next-highest point earner that didn't make the original cut.

Men's basketball

Men's hoops will follow a similar process. There still will be blocks of games released one at a time. Students will be alerted to the release of blocks by text, email and push notifications. Once a block is released, the top loyalty-point holders will have a 72-hour window to purchase tickets. After the window closes, the tickets are made available to the rest of the student body.

Some games will remain free to enter. Some games will cost between $5 and $30 to enter. For certain high-demand games, the football model will be implemented. Students will request a ticket, and tickets will be allocated based on point rankings. Mizzou Athletics has not released which games will fall under which pricing models.

Change spurred by student demand

Mizzou Athletics is making these changes after student backlash over the lottery model used in the 2025-2026 academic year. On its website, MU athletics says students were frustrated over lotteries they had no control over. They also didn't like waiting in queues to find out if they got a ticket or not.

The athletic department saw the need to change the system after collecting data from student surveys. The department conducted workshops with a student-ticketing advisory group to "rebuild the process from the ground up."

Questions answered by Mizzou Athletics

The ticketing site includes answers to frequently asked questions, including information on the new loyalty program. The system is designed to meet growing student demand for athletic events, which stems, in part, from increased enrollment and the success of the football and basketball programs.

When can students beging earning points

Students enrolled at the university may begin earning points by attending home games at the start of the 2026-2027 academic year. Base points will be awarded by seniority. Seniors and graduate students begin with 600 loyalty points, juniors with 400 loyalty points, sophomores with 200 and freshman with 0.

Each individual Mizzou home game is worth 50 points, and 20 bonus points will be awarded to students who arrive early and stay until the conclusion of games. Some games may be designated double-point games, with that point value beginning at 100 points.

There will be opportunities before the first football game for all students to earn points, to be announced at a later date. Select campus events will be designated as point-earning throughout the year.

While there is no punishment for failing to use one ticket, multiple missed events can result in a loss of existing loyalty points.

Where do excess points go?

At the conclusion of the academic year, 25% of a student's point total will carry over into the following year. This creates incentives for students to continue attending home games at the conclusion of football and basketball seasons to start the following year with more points.

Can students utilize their student accounts?

No, student-charging will be unavailable for any Mizzou Athletics ticketing purchases. A payment link will be provided once a ticket is awarded, and the price for the ticket must be paid in full.

When a ticket is awarded to a student, the student has a 24-hour window to complete the purchase.

For further questions or information on the new system, Mizzou Athletics encourages students and parents to contact the ticket office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (CT), Monday through Friday at 1(800) CAT-PAWS or by email at tickets@missouri.edu.

Copyright 2026 Columbia Missourian

This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Missouri Tigers revamps ticketing system for students. It will be based on loyalty."