One University of Maryland student will be winning big on the Terrapins field come Saturday. According to the university, one student will win free tuition for the Spring 2027 Semester if they stay the entire game.
“The idea actually started over the summer, so a bunch of us got together to brainstorm ideas of how we can get students to stay until the fourth quarter of our football games,” said Rachel Palmer, the assistant athletic director for fan development and marketing at UMD. “We’ve tried a lot of things over the years, raffling off premium giveaways, contests and ultimately landed on this idea of a tuition raffle.”
The raffle will happen at the Halloween game against Illinois.
“You best believe I’ll be staying at the game the whole time, hello, I want that free tuition,” said UMD Freshman, Allison Reinhart. “(Our football team isn’t) the best and we’ve had a rough few games and so I think they’re really trying to pursue us to stay.”
“I actually wasn’t planning on going to the game, but I guess now I am,” said Obi Mortanya, a freshman at UMD. “Well, we’re not really that good so there’s not a big reason to stay but I guess that’s incentive.”
Palmer said students must claim their student ticket, scan it at the gate and during the game a QR code will come up on the big screen for students to scan and enter.
Five finalists will be randomly selected and brought down to the field during fourth quarter where one of them will be gifted the tuition.
The total value of the award is based on the value of undergraduate, in-state tuition, roughly up to $8,000, according to university officials. They will honor that value regardless of the student’s residency status.
“It’s also our second annual Oktoberfest game, so we have kind of German-inspired Oktoberfest theme coming into the stadium, we have hats we’re giving out to the fans that come into the game and then we also have specials on Oktoberfest beers and souvenir cups,” said Palmer. “Then with it also being on Halloween, we have a dual theme with Halloween so encouraging trick or treating at our fan fest before the game, costume contests.”
Maryland has an overall record of 2-5 and has not won a game since Sept. 12. The game kicks off at noon on Saturday, October 31.
READ MORE:UMD offers free tuition for football fans who stay all game
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