UFL Roughnecks discount tickets for Rice students, faculty

UFL Roughnecks discount tickets for Rice students, faculty

By Andersen Pickard     3/26/24 11:25pm

The Houston Roughnecks, one of eight teams in the newly-merged United Football League, begin their inaugural season at Rice Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Standard tickets start at $22 for the public but are available for university students and faculty at $10. 

Discounted tickets are available for Sections 101, 102 and 106 at Rice Stadium. An additional service fee of $1.72 per ticket will be added to the base charge. 

Students and faculty can purchase discounted tickets for all five home games, including Sunday’s 2 p.m. clash with the Memphis Showboats, at shorturl.at/fgozV.

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The Roughnecks offered discounted tickets to “show our gratitude for our new home,” according to their FEVO ticket page. They are the only team in the UFL scheduled to play home games at a university-associated stadium.

The UFL is the product of a merger between the XFL and the United States Football League. The two leagues joined forces in December after competing for players, sponsorship, television rights and regional markets for several years. Their mission focuses on “showcasing high-potential professional players in a vibrant, fan-friendly environment.”

“We’re going to build an exciting atmosphere at Rice Stadium, one that is worthy of Roughneck nation and its most passionate fans,” head coach CJ Johnson previously said in a statement through Rice Athletics. “I hope all Houstonians will join us for an incredible season of spring football at Rice.”

Despite optimism from within the Roughnecks organization, football pundits are mostly critical of the team heading into the 2024 season. UFL analyst Jake Tribbey of FantasyPoints.com listed the Roughnecks last in his preseason power rankings, and FanDuel has them as the least likely team to win the 2024 championship with +1300 odds. 

The Roughnecks have four Texas natives on their roster, including defensive end Isaiah Chambers from Houston. The team is led by quarterback Jarrett Guarantano who was named the starter over Reid Sinnett and Nolan Henderson on March 20. “It was a great competition all camp long,” Johnson said. “One day it was Nolan, one day it was Jarrett, one day it was Reid. In the end, the body of work that Jarrett put forth, I think he deserves to start.”

Guarantano was a standout at the University of Tennessee before transferring to Washington State University for his final collegiate season. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent and had stints with the Arizona Cardinals and Denver Broncos, but he never played in a regular-season game. Neither Sinnett nor Henderson, both undrafted free agents, have played a snap in the NFL, either. 

Johnson hinted at the possibility of the Roughnecks using multiple quarterbacks early in the season, perhaps as soon as Week 1. “Whoever’s the backup, we’re going to play him, too,” he said. “We’re going to play both of them. You’ll see them in the first game, second quarter, third series, something like that.” 

While members of the Rice community can enter the stadium at a discounted rate, they can also watch the Roughnecks on television. UFL games will air live on ESPN, ESPN2, ABC and FOX or FS1 this season. Sunday’s season-opening game can be found on ESPN.

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