After five decades of service to Penn State University, an impactful yet unsung hero of the athletic department is stepping into retirement.
William “Bud” Meredith, the director of ticketing operations, will leave his position at the end of June after 48 years with the university.
A news release from the athletic department credits Meredith as a leader in the university’s “tremendous growth” in ticket sales.
“Bud has been an inspirational mentor to me since I joined Penn State Athletics,” assistant director of ticketing sales Jeff Garner says. “His passion and dedication to our student-athletes, our fans and our staff is a fantastic model as we move forward into a new chapter.”
Meredith graduated from State College High School in 1957, joining the Navy for three years before attending Penn State. He graduated with a business degree in 1964 and joined the school’s auditing staff the following year.
The ticketing prodigy joined Athletics in 1967 as a business manager and moved up to ticket manager three years later. In the 1960s, he’d account more than 40,000 football tickets by hand. Meredith oversaw the transition to a computerized ticket operation the following decade and the implementation of online ticket sales in the 200s.
As Penn State football grew — and Beaver Stadium along with it — Meredith’s operation followed suit. When he joined the staff, the stadium held 46,284 people and averaged just over 40,000 fans per game. Seven expansions brought the capacity up to 106,572, and the team has averaged over 100,000 fans per game in 12 of 14 seasons since the last addition in 2001.
“Every time they add a seat to Beaver Stadium I lose a hair on my head,” Meredith says.
As he works his final handful of days for Penn State, Meredith has received an outpouring of support and gratitude.
“The interesting part is a lot of former athletes have called and said thank you for your help and that sort of thing,” he says. “That’s really greatly appreciated. I’ve made a lot of friends in the community. I’ve always been behind the scenes. I’m here to help anybody. Marketing is the one out front, and I’m more low key.”
After working a job that is largely thankless and unnoticed by the general population of Penn State fans, Meredith is now getting recognition for his service to the university.
“We are most appreciative to Bud for his dedication, contributions to Penn State and his role in helping Intercollegiate Athletics grow and prosper,” athletic director Sandy Barbour says. “Bud has been on the front lines for the myriad of changes and evolution at Penn State through the years and has consistently put customer service and helping our passionate fans in a first-class manner number one in his daily interactions with Nittany Nation.”
Garner adds that the department wishes Meredith a happy and healthy retirement, and he doesn’t expect his long-time colleague to disappear. In fact, Garner says, he has a feeling Meredith will be one of the ticket office’s most frequent customers. While Meredith’s retirement plans include golf and finishing unpacking eight years after moving into his current house, attending football games is on the list.
“I’m looking forward to football season,” he says. “But I’ll be there as a spectator, not as a worker.”
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