The University announced changes to the existing policy for fans allowed on the Hill at Scott Stadium in a statement Wednesday. The new policies, which will take effect at the football game against Boston College Saturday, now exclude the use of stickers which were briefly required to indicate Hill eligibility and enforce crowd capacity. Instead, access to the Hill will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis for eligible fans until the space reaches capacity, and re-entry to the Hill will not be guaranteed.
The change in Hill access policy comes after student and fan dissatisfaction following a change to the Hill policy at the start of this season. The University originally announced new rules for the upcoming season in a statement Aug. 8, citing needs to manage capacity and improve safety in the area during games. The change also followed an incident during the final home game of last season against Virginia Tech, when Hokie fans took over the Hill when Cavalier fans left, storming the field at the conclusion of the game.
Under the restrictions first implemented at the beginning of this season, fans eligible to access the Hill included University students, Virginia Athletics Foundation membership card holders, season ticket holders, mini-plan ticket holders and Cavman’s Crew members — select children in middle and elementary school.
The University enforced the new policies at the first two home games of the season, requiring fans to obtain a sticker before entering the Hill to prove eligibility. Once stickers ran out, however, no new fans were allowed in, regardless of how many people exited the space.
Jackson Sleadd, Class of 2027 president and second-year College student, said several students reported issues with accessing the Hill. Sleadd said he was himself barred from entering the Hill during the second quarter of Virginia’s game against Maryland Sept. 14, due to stickers running out, despite the Hill not appearing to be at full capacity.
Student fans who were unable to gain access to the Hill expressed frustrations with the policies after both of the season’s first two home games. In a statement to The Cavalier Daily, Director of Athletics Carla Williams said that the University’s intent was never to worsen the fan experience, but to create a fun, safe and energetic atmosphere for students and fans.
“Our intent is not and was never to negatively impact our students or fans,” Williams stated. “We’ll continue to work diligently to address concerns to reach our original intent.”
Sleadd said he held a meeting last week with Steven Pritzker, University chief operating officer, chief financial officer and deputy athletics director, and John Welch, associate athletics director of facilities, to discuss the fans’ frustrations over the policies and to brainstorm solutions.
“They understood there was a problem, and they did a really good job listening to me on where the student body was and that we needed a change,” Sleadd said.
Wednesday morning the University announced an updated set of policies which modifies how Hill access will be restricted. According to the new policy, students and fans will no longer be required to show a sticker for entry. Access to the Hill will be granted on a first-come, first-serve basis for eligible fans until the space reaches capacity.
The updated policy states that re-entry to the Hill will not be guaranteed, and fans will be granted access only as space opens up. It also explains that queuing lines have been included outside the Hill to minimize congestion for fans waiting to enter the space.
Virginia Athletics said they encourage fans to arrive early to secure their spot on the Hill, with gates opening 90 minutes prior to kickoff. Student seating will still be available to fans in sections 101-105, 116-119 and 301-302 on a first-come, first-served basis.
According to a statement published by Virginia Athletics, the changes were made in conjunction with the Department of Safety and Security and student groups to balance safety and fun for fans.
“The updated policies … have been tailored to maximize fan safety while also providing a positive experience for spectators, student-athletes, coaches and officials,” Virginia Athletics wrote in their announcement.
The University did not specify exactly how capacity limits would be measured throughout the game, but in a joint statement to The Cavalier Daily, Pritzer and Deputy Chief of Police Bryant Hall said they have a number of different methods and have resources deployed to ensure safety for those on the Hill.
Pritzer and Hall said they have seen a reduction of incidents on the Hill since the policies’ implementation this season, including those that involved fans of the opposing team. While the two say that fan safety has improved following the more restrictive access policies, some students are frustrated with the change in fan atmosphere caused by the restrictions.
Fourth-year McIntire student Ethan Johnson said he wished the policy changes didn’t include a capacity limit. He thinks the University is ignoring the actual problem of getting students to the games.
“Part of football is rowdiness … that adds to the environment, adds to the intensity, and the players feed off of that,” Johnson said. “And I feel like [the stadium] is starting to lack that.”
Johnson said he has attended most games during his time as a student and that he noticed a decreased noise and energy level among the student section so far this season. According to Johnson, restricting access to other teams’ fans on the Hill takes away an experience of Virginia fans unifying to be the louder fan base against opponents.
“When somebody next to you is excited, you're excited, and when you're excited, the person next to you gets excited,” Johnson said. “When other [teams’ fans] would come [to the Hill], like, we would get loud at them, we would show them why we're the better school and why we're the better fan base.”
Another issue with the updated policies, according to Johnson, is that the University has trouble keeping fans at games the whole time. He said that even without the sticker system, he thinks students will have less motivation to come to games if there is a chance they won’t get a spot.
Third-year Engineering student Zoe Benton agreed that these capacity limits will be discouraging to students wanting to attend football games, as she saw students who were unable to access the Hill overflowing into the student bleacher section at the Sept. 14 game.
While Benton said she feels the restrictions to fan access to the Hill are an unfair response to last year’s incident during the Virginia Tech game when rival fans stormed the field, she understands the University’s motivation to preserve the Hill for Virginia fans.
“I don’t think [students] should be punished for the bad behavior of other fans,” Benton said, “but I can understand wanting to keep [the Hill] as only a student experience.”
Sleadd is more optimistic about student turnout than Benton and Johnson. He said that student attendance at games has already increased by 37 percent so far this season compared to last. According to Sleadd, the adjustment of policy will make for a better experience at this weekend’s game by allowing people to rotate onto the hill as capacity fluctuates.
“I'm excited about this network that I've created with athletics … to get things done and make changes for students,” Sleadd said. “I think this is going to make our football games a lot more enjoyable.”
The new rules will be in place for Saturday’s home game against Boston College with kickoff at 12pm.
For recently graduated students returning to Grounds this weekend for the Young Alumni Reunion, an annual event hosted by the Alumni Association, they can gain access to the Hill with the use of a student guest ticket purchased by an active student. According to the policies, alumni who purchase a regular ticket will not have access to the Hill.
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