Free for all! Why Coastal Carolina went viral for their new concessions policy at games
Coastal Carolina’s free-for-all policy regarding some of its concessions at football games is going viral on social media.
In a March 31, 2025, press release, the school’s athletic department announced that hot dogs, nachos, popcorn and fountain drinks were free at Brooks Stadium starting this fall. Ticket-purchasing fans can get four items per visit to a concession stand, and visits are not limited.
The press release came with a corresponding video of CCU’s Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics and University Recreation, Chance Miller, announcing the change to Teal Nation fans, which has gone viral on social media platforms like X, formerly known as Twitter.
Multiple popular sports-related accounts on X and Instagram also re-posted the video, garnering millions of views. Reactions from social media users included excited proclamations about gorging on stadium food, wondering if it was an early April Fool’s joke and questions about how CCU will afford the lost revenue from concessions.
The move is not without some precedent. Front Office Sports reported that the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons reduced the price of concessions in 2017 by about 50 percent when the franchise moved into its new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which seats 71,000 spectators, and saw a jump in food-related revenue.
The University of South Carolina had free concessions for similar items for three home basketball games in late December 2024. Miller previously worked for the Gamecocks for more than a decade, last serving as a senior deputy athletics director.
Miller’s instituted several changes at CCU since arriving in the middle of 2024, including a new home entrance for the football team and a scoreboard at Brooks Stadium.
While popcorn, fountain drinks, nachos and hotdogs are free, not all items at the stadium will be. Chief Communications Officer for the Coastal Carolina Athletic Department Ryan Koslen told The Sun News that fans will still have to pay for other concessions items like Bojangles and beer.
The slashing of some concessions prices to zero comes as some ticket prices at Brooks Stadium will increase in 2025. The entire season ticket package for teal seating near the midfield area in the lower bowl will now cost $230 in 2025 compared to $200 in 2024 for a similar seat. Koslen added that ticket prices stayed the same in 2023 and 2024, and the cost of seating for most tickets in Brooks Stadium will not change for the 2025 college football season or go down in some cases.
Koslen said the school expects to offset the lost revenue by making certain concessions free for fans with increased ticket prices and a hopeful increase in fan attendance.
This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 12:40 PM.
