San Diego State football is giving away thousands of free tickets for Saturday night's game against Cal in an effort to fill Snapdragon Stadium and create new fans amid declining attendance numbers.
The strategy mirrors the tactic former basketball coach Steve Fisher used 25 years ago, when he would walk around campus with free tickets in his pocket to drum up interest for his fledgling program.
Coach Sean Lewis used his team's bye week to distribute free tickets to families, military members and teachers throughout the community.
"There's young kids, and that's an opportunity for them to be Aztecs fans forever," Lewis said.
The Aztecs are also making 3,000 additional free tickets available to students and offering two extra complimentary tickets to season ticket holders to bring friends.
"The stadium can hold just over 32,000 people. We have over 35,000 students who go to school here. There should be standing room only," Lewis said.
The attendance push comes after a disappointing home opener against Stony Brook on Aug. 28, when Snapdragon Stadium was more than half-empty. The annual fan fest earlier in the month was also lightly attended.
Season ticket sales have become a major concern for the program. The ticket base declined from nearly 16,000 in Snapdragon's first season in 2022 to less than 9,000 last year.
Lewis spent the bye week visiting students and community youth events to distribute tickets for Saturday's game.
The free tickets are viewed as a temporary solution, as SDSU needs football revenue to pay back the close to $300 million borrowed to build Snapdragon Stadium.
"For a lot of people, it's their first time coming...that's going to be on us. The second time, when they have a good experience, that's going to be on them," Lewis said.
Lewis knows the best way to reverse the attendance trend is by winning games, but hopes the community outreach will help build a stronger fan base for the future.
