This season, Kansas Athletics and the University of Kansas Student Senate have teamed up for a program that gives away 20 tickets to first-generation students and Pell Grant recipients at each men’s basketball game.

In an effort to counteract a steady increase in both tuition and ticket prices, KU Student Senate aimed to create a program that would make non-academic aspects of the university experience more accessible to traditionally underserved students. The student body president noted that the price of the student All-Sports Combo ticket package had increased by about $25 over the last few years.

Eligible students can opt into an online lottery system in hopes of scoring a free ticket. They need only register once for the season, and the randomly selected 20 winners will be notified the day prior to each game. There is no limit to how many tickets any one student can win.

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The KU Student Senate president couldn’t say how many had enrolled for the lottery system, but did report that all 20 tickets had been distributed for each game of the season thus far.

Jim Marchiony, associate athletic director for public affairs, said the project is part of a larger plan with Student Senate to reduce student ticket prices. By reallocating a few hundred seats at Allen Fieldhouse previously reserved for students to KU donors, student season-ticket combo packs will be lowered from $179 to $159.

Marchiony said it was Student Senate’s idea to reserve 20 seats for low-income and first-generation students, but that Kansas Athletics was happy to oblige and provide the tickets.

“We applaud the students for starting this kind of program and really believe it’ll work just like they want it to.”