It’s shaping up to an unavoidably commercial year in college football, and BYU, one the Big 12’s biggest brands, is taking full advantage in monetizing “fan experiences” for some outrageous prices.
From birthday messages to a visit from Cosmo, the BYU Cougars mascot, the school is looking to make bank on some gameday experiences that would’ve otherwise been complimentary in a more sane age. For example, the school’s experiences online shop includes a visit from their furry Cougar mascot during their Week 1 opener against Utah Tech for $1,068.91. Simply bonkers.
One of the beauties of attending a college football game as a kid was the surprise of having the mascot show up and give you a high-five without turning around and decimating your dad’s credit card. Are we serious? There isn’t enough of a budget at BYU to pay the mascot? How can you justify this when there’ll be hundreds if not thousands of children screaming at Cosmo on his way back up from your seat. He might wave at couple and take a selfie with one or two – and you paid a thousands big ones.
Other experiences, like joining the pregame “Cougar Walk” or simply checking out the team’s media room will cost you big time.
The cool story is which player or coach you ran into while attending the game or heading to the tailgate from your car. How does that story play out when your neighbor finds out you paid for it?
BYU sold over 43,000 season tickets last year, and they’ll surely make a pretty penny off this new initiative. But to take something as simple as the mascot – easily the most carefree and fun part of the gameday experience – and slap any price tag on it, man that should just rub you the wrong way if you’re college football fan.
