Penn State Delays Student Football Ticket Sales

Penn State Athletics has indefinitely delayed student football ticket sales, the university announced in an email to students on Tuesday.

According to the email, the ticket-purchasing process has been delayed until “final decisions” regarding the season have been made. Penn State is working alongside Big Ten, NCAA, and public health officials to plan for different scenarios depending on what may be possible this fall.

“As always, the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, staff, fans and community will be our top priority,” the email said. “Please do your part by following health and safety guidelines. We ask for your continued patience and understanding as we develop our plan for the fall. Once we have greater clarity, we will communicate via email with more details about our fall season.”

Earlier this week, the team returned a good number of its student-athletes to campus for voluntary summer workouts. Additionally, the NCAA approved a six-week preseason model to help programs get in shape for the season.

Penn State has made no announcement about how (or if) football will play out this fall. During a virtual town hall for students on Monday about fall semester plans, President Eric Barron said congregating thousands of fans in one place could “[have] the potential to create [a] super-spreader event” and undo progress Penn State could make toward combating the coronavirus’ spread on campus.

‘I have heard, so far, of no university that intends to have a full stadium coming into the fall, but rather most are planning for a highly restricted attendance,’ he said during a separate town hall for faculty and staff. ‘We’ll see more about this in the future as Big Ten presidents, for example, continue to meet to discuss exactly what our plans are for a safe return to athletics. But I will tell you none of us have any intention of having a massive number of individuals that then provide the opportunity to spread COVID to different communities.’

The athletic department advises students to check its website frequently for up-to-date information on purchasing football tickets this summer.