Coastal Carolina offering free concessions at home football games to ‘elevate fan experience'
Fans at the Chanticleers' six home games in 2025 can acquire four items per concession stand visit from a selection of hot dogs, popcorn, nachos and fountain drinks. They can make unlimited visits and are only required to scan each trip through an athletic department app.
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'We're always looking for ways to elevate (fans') game day experience,' Coastal Carolina athletic director Chance Miller said in a release on Monday. 'We're excited to offer free concessions this fall as a way to say thank you for the energy, passion and support they bring to Brooks Stadium every game.'
Picture this. It's September 6. You've got your free nachos. Free hot dog. Free drink. The Chants have taken the field for the first time. Life is good.
Season tickets ➡️ https://t.co/dHraVZhgUF#BALLATTHEBEACH | #FAM1LY | #TEALNATION pic.twitter.com/gOwoIANKMp
— Coastal Football (@CoastalFootball) March 31, 2025
Fans can also purchase other items at concession stands. Third-year coach Tim Beck's team begins its home slate on Sept. 6 against Charleston Southern.
The Chanticleers have gone 14-12 under Beck, with two bowl appearances. They went 6-7 in 2024, capped by a loss to UTSA in the Myrtle Beach Bowl, which Coastal Carolina hosts annually at Brooks Stadium.
The move to offer free concessions runs counter to what some larger programs are doing to grow their revenue ahead of the House settlement, which is expected to be finalized next week and will allow larger athletic departments to share up to $20.5 million with athletes. The University of Tennessee announced in September a 10 percent 'talent fee' on the price of season tickets. Arkansas basketball also announced a shakeup in seating for season ticket holders in January, arranging seats by donors' donation levels.
The move also is the latest and most dramatic in an effort by some teams to lessen the financial burden on fans attending games. When the Atlanta Falcons opened their new stadium in 2017, they debuted 'fan-first' pricing at concessions, featuring hot dogs, drinks and popcorn for $2, beers for $5 and pizza for $3.
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The Atlanta Hawks made a similar move shortly after. The Utah Jazz and Utah Hockey Club have adopted similar policies in recent years. The Phoenix Suns also cut concession prices this season. The Falcons said the move resulted in a 30 percent rise in concession sales.
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New York Times
3 days ago
- New York Times
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They are now. Or at least they'd better be. Missouri State became a Conference USA member this summer, joining Delaware as the newest programs in the 136-team FBS. The Bears' FBS debut is at USC on Aug. 30. It's a big jump for any team, going from recent home openers like Lindenwood and Lincoln University of Missouri to No. 16 SMU. But it seems especially ambitious for a losing program (.483 all-time winning percentage) with only one (shared) conference title and six winning seasons this century. To make it happen, the Bears needed more than the usual administrative commitment and hush-hush politicking to grab what they thought could be one of the last FBS spots available. They needed one of college sports' biggest lightning rods to show proof-of-concept that a basketball school in a basketball region can, finally, win in football. They needed Bobby Petrino. The Bears' glory days came in a 15-year stretch, mostly away from the gridiron and under a different name, Southwest Missouri State. From 1987-99, only four current mid-majors made the NCAA Tournament in men's basketball more than the Bears (six appearances): New Mexico, Murray State, Princeton and UMass. They hung with Kansas and UNLV, knocked off Clemson and upset Wisconsin and Tennessee to make the Sweet 16 as a No. 12 seed in 1999. 'Everybody was going to basketball games,' said Ned Reynolds, a Springfield sports broadcaster for the last 58 years. 'Everybody.' Though the program has fallen to 221-226 over the past 14 seasons, basketball still resonates. The Bears opened a new arena in 2008, and a budget working group ranked hoops ahead of football in a 2017 document obtained by the Springfield News-Leader. Advertisement The women's program is even better. The Lady Bears have made 17 of the past 33 NCAA Tournaments, led the nation in attendance in 1993 and made the Final Four in 1992 and 2001. Jackie Stiles was Caitlin Clark before Caitlin Clark, becoming the first woman to score 1,000 points in a season and graduating as the NCAA's all-time leading scorer (3,393 points, which still ranks fifth). Football flashed with back-to-back FCS playoff appearances in 1989-90 … then lost 191 of its next 320 games. The 70-7 debacle at Arkansas State was the program's worst loss in 94 years and showed the FCS/FBS gap in facilities, talent, commitment and everything else. As losing seasons mounted, fans weren't the only ones questioning the program's existence. School officials considered cutting it. 'Forget about FBS,' said Kyle Moats, who was Missouri State's athletic director from 2009-24 before going to Eastern Kentucky. 'We had a serious thought as to, are we going to continue to keep going this route.' The doubts led to the next turning point in late 2019. As the Bears stumbled through a 1-10 season, Moats got a call from Petrino, who was a year removed from being fired at Louisville. Petrino had high-level success with the Cardinals (77-35 over two stints) and at Arkansas (21-5 over his final two seasons) but also had high-profile exits at both stops. He wanted back in the game, and the Bears wanted to give him a chance to answer the program's existential question. 'Could you win at football at Missouri State?' Smart asked. Turns out, you can. Petrino brought the Bears to the FCS playoffs for the first time in three decades with back-to-back appearances and a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference title before returning to the FBS as an offensive coordinator. 'All of a sudden, we believed — we actually believed — we could move to FBS and compete,' Smart said. Advertisement Which led to the next question. Should the Bears move to FBS if given the chance? That answer was easier. Missouri State was one of the largest schools still in the FCS. The projected cost — about $10 million up front plus another $5 million annually — was significant but could be offset at least in part by larger conference distributions and bigger paychecks from Power 4 opponents. Administrators viewed a more prominent football program as a valuable marketing tool to help meet their goal of growing enrollment from 25,000 to 30,000 by 2030; the school could gain exposure through nationally televised weeknight contests and the EA Sports video game while adding an enhanced element to campus life. Going all-in on basketball was a non-starter. Because power conferences now monopolize at-large NCAA Tournament spots, the Bears would be trading one one-bid league (the Missouri Valley) for another. 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Fox Sports
11-08-2025
- Fox Sports
2025 Coastal Carolina Football Predictions: Chanticleers Ranked 94th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136
College Football 2025 Coastal Carolina Football Predictions: Chanticleers Ranked 94th in RJ Young's Ultimate 136 Published Aug. 10, 2025 9:29 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link This isn't your average college football ranking. My Ultimate 136 is a set of rankings that is fluid, but it's my job to look ahead and make a claim for all FBS teams based on what I know and why I know it. Here are the three pressing questions I started by asking when putting together this list: Who do I think is good? Why do I think they're good? What are the chances they will finish above or below my expectations? Here is a look at where Coastal Carolina lands in my Ultimate 136. Coastal Carolina ranking: 94 Last year's ranking: 60 Top player: WR Jameson Tucker: Has totaled 1,002 receiving yards and 9 touchdown catches over the last two seasons. [Coastal Carolina's 2025 schedule] RJ's take: Tim Beck's Chanticleers yearn for consistency. Only four of his players started every game last season — and they still went bowling. With the entire starting backfield of quarterback Ethan Vasko and running back Braydon Bennett transferring out, Beck is looking to signal-callers MJ Morris (Maryland) and Emmett Brown (San Jose State) to plug and play alongside three returners at wideout in Bryson Graves, Jameson Tucker and Cameron Wright. On defense, the addition of SEC and ACC talent in the backfield in Ja'Marion Wayne (Missouri) and Robby Washington (Miami) should help keep the Chanticleers in position to defend the farm at Myrtle Beach. ADVERTISEMENT [ Check out RJ Young's Ultimate 136 College Football Rankings here ] Coastal Carolina Win Total Odds: Over 5.5 (+106) Under (-130) Have an issue with my rankings? Think your alma mater is too low, or your school's rival is too high? Get at me on X, @RJ_Young , and I'll select my favorite tweets and respond to them in a future article. RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young. FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Coastal Carolina Chanticleers share
