Michigan State Will Not Hike Football Ticket Prices To Support Coaching Pay Raises

Michigan State AD Mark Hollis yesterday "tried to explain how his athletic department plans to pay for the hefty raises announced Tuesday" for football coach Mark Dantonio and his staff, and said that it "won’t include raising ticket prices," according to Graham Couch of the LANSING STATE JOURNAL. Hollis said, "That decision was made one as a reward back to our fan base, but more importantly, it’s a call to action to our fans that we need you in our stadium. Raising prices is contrary to that process.” Couch notes Hollis is "counting on donors, season ticket holders and corporate support to cover the extra expense" of roughly $2.4M per year. He "insisted the increased commitment is sustainable for one of the very few solvent departments in college athletics." Hollis said that the "across-the-board raises ... were necessary, reflective of the market and changing expectations." He said they were not only a reward, but “the anticipation of where I think our program is headed in the future" (LANSING STATE JOURNAL, 2/27).