Like anything else, investing in OU football is expensive

When I started the self-checkout process, I thought I was about to spend $80. Actual total: $137.77. It took the breath out of me.

Chips, salsa, fruit, two tomatoes, lunch meat, and other items — $137.77.

At the bottom of the receipt was a message that read: Save money today! 0.50. I invested $137.77 in coffee and bread and unknowingly saved 50 cents.

Prices for necessities and luxuries such as concert tickets are exorbitant. University of Oklahoma fans consider Sooner football to be both a necessity and a luxury, and ticket prices for the 2024 season will likely be higher than in previous years.

For some, the increase is small. For others, it's not so minor.

A Tulsa-based OU fan shared with Tulsa World a comparison of prices for Memorial Stadium's Game 10 four-season tickets in 2023 and 2024.

The total cost of the four tickets in 2023 was $2,020.

Lester Henderson earned his law degree from OU in 1961 and bought four OU football season tickets in 1965. Eventually, Lester Henderson became Creek County Judge Lester Henderson. That chunk of four season tickets has remained in the Henderson family for 59 seasons.

Since Lester Henderson passed away in 2019, OU tickets are currently managed and used primarily by Lester's son Craig Henderson and Craig's wife Angela.

“Ticket prices have increased by $50 per seat,” said Craig Henderson, mayor of Sapulpa and clinical director of Tulsa Youth Services. The Henderson family's seats are in section 46 near the southwest corner of the stadium.

Craig is also an OU graduate, and the Hendersons' daughter will be a freshman at OU this fall. Craig Henderson and Angela Henderson have already renewed their tickets for the 2024 season, making OU the first member of the Southeastern Conference to do so.

“We've been sitting in the same seat for a long time,” said occupational therapist Angela Henderson. “We have a great crowd around us. People we haven't seen in a while. Parties. We love our seats.”

“I’m from Wichita,” Angela continued. “When Craig took me to my first OU football game, John Blake was the coach. There was no one in the stands. I said, 'What's so great about OU football? of?”

When Bob Stoops first appeared at a Sooner Caravan event in Tulsa, Angela approached the then-new Sooner coach and said, “You know what? I really hope you get through this. That would really help boost morale in the Henderson family. ”

Although the Hendersons are committed to Oklahoma football, Craig admits he is troubled by the impact the NIL and transfer portal are having on college football.

“Unless they do something about it, and ticket prices continue to go up, I don't know how long (season ticket renewals) will continue,” Craig Henderson said. “Especially in Portal, it feels like a semi-pro team.

“The players were there mostly because of the OU (logo) on their helmets. That's not the case anymore.”

Prior to the 2023 season, OU had sold all season tickets at a single price for more than 20 years. There were different types of donations required for fans to purchase season tickets.

Long-time season ticket holders, fans who have had season tickets since the donation process was introduced in the late '90s, are exempt from the donation requirement.

A high percentage of OU's season ticket holders receive that exemption. A high percentage of OU fans are like the Hendersons, and if they have Sooner tickets, they keep them.

All-season tickets for premium seats are $700. If a donation is required, the amount ranges from $4,000 to $1,750.

Other seats now feature four different price points for the first time at OU.

For Tier 1 seats, the cost is $700 per seat with a donation of $1,500 to $500, and $850 per seat with no donation.

Tier 2 season tickets are $600 with a donation of $1,000 to $250 and $750 without a donation.

Tier 3 tickets are $550 with a donation of $500 to $200 and $625 without a donation.

Tier 4 tickets are $450 and no donation is required.

As of last year, ticket-related donations are no longer tax deductible, Angela Henderson said.

The University of Oklahoma has this to say about pricing: “A variety of factors were considered in pricing the 2024 season. One factor is that this will be our first season in the SEC. Other factors include: 7 games (instead of 6) This includes the first home game, a high-profile schedule, and the lack of recent significant season ticket price increases.”

OU informed patrons that the 2025 prices will also be the same as the 2024 prices.

The details of the OU statement are as follows: “These changes will reduce his average cost per game in his 47% of the stadium. (Divide the season ticket price, not including donations, by 6 for 2023 and 7 for 2024. (lower price per game in 2024).

And the OU emphasized that: “Some schools may have lower season ticket prices, but seat donation requirements for equivalent seats are higher and all-in prices are the same or higher than our pricing.” Our research shows that we are not in the best position in the SEC and are priced higher than our competitors. ”

Yes, Osaka University has seven home dates this year. Temple, Houston and Tulane will visit for non-conference games, while Josh Heupel's Tennessee Vols will visit Norman for the Sooners' first taste of SEC competition.

Oklahoma State's remaining home games are against South Carolina, FCS Maine Black Bears and Alabama (Nov. 23).

Big 12 teams have nine conference games. SEC teams play his eight conference games, so there's an element of filling out the schedule late in the season, and the opponents are usually the Creampuffs. OU will be his seventh game at home as Maine plays in Norman.

“I didn't know there was soccer in Maine,” Craig Henderson said. “I'm not a big fan of the (SEC) movement because of the tradition that we've built over 60 years in the Big Eight and Big 12. But I'm excited to see new teams and maybe visit some of those SEC We're excited to do it at Southern Stadium. ”

Twenty years ago, if you asked an Oklahoma State fan how much they would pay for a football ticket in 2023, they would have laughed. The most common response is probably, “There's no way I'm going to pay that much money.”

In 2023, for the first time in program history, OSU's season tickets were sold out and each home game was fully booked.

Nebraska has played 396 consecutive home games, the longest in college football history. Osaka University ranks second with 152 games. Every game played in Norman since the 1999 season opener, when Stoops made his debut as a Sooner head man, has been sold out.

A few years ago, then-Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder said: It's never enough. ”

What Holder said applies to all FBS schools. Football is expensive, even at the worst college programs. It's unimaginably expensive for programs that actually win and compete for championships, and a large portion of that is for thousands of people like the Hendersons who have said yes to season ticket renewals for decades. It comes from a human fan.