Fans Outraged as NCAA Wrestling Championship Organizers Hit With Latest Criticism

Many in the sports world are basking in the nostalgia of 2024, while others, like gymnasts, are gearing up for the regular season to begin. However, college wrestling fans are already hyped about the sport’s biggest annual event, the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships. With schools already competing in regular-season games, fans are in a rush to secure tickets for the championship.

Running from March 20-22, 2025, there are less than three months left until schools across the nation battle to earn the national title. However, no one could prepare a Reddit user for the shock he would feel while looking up the ticket prices. “Figured that the ACC championship is $15, surely tickets won’t be too crazy. $2,000?!?!” the fan posted on Reddit.

“That’s the price on 3rd party platforms. Obviously, it’s a popular event, but I was not expecting Super Bowl prices,” added the fan. While the user was looking to secure his spot early, the exorbitant pricing left the wrestling fan confused. “Am I missing something here?” the Redditor asked fellow NCAA wrestling fans, who weighed in on the situation.

“That’s for an all-session ticket practically mat-side. I’d wait until closer to the event when they release more tickets or just scalp a ticket for every session.” explained one fellow Reddit user. However, what made it more confusing was that the official NCAA ticket information website redirected the user to the third-party site, Ticketmaster.

That’s when another fan revealed another clue as to why the NCAA Wrestling Championship tickets at the third-party website were so expensive. “My wife has a conference in Philly that week. Free trip for me, but I’m going to the box office when I get there. Ticketmaster fees are ridiculous,” explained the Redditor. And he was not wrong, as Ticketmaster themselves have a disclaimer.

Curious users clicking on one of the several links will find that Ticketmaster doesn’t call itself the official ticketing partner. “Our Ticketmaster resale marketplace is not the primary ticket provider. Resale tickets can often exceed face value,” says the website on the All-Sessions Ticket purchase page. In fact, at the time of writing, the cheapest all-session option is $2,812, while the most expensive one is over $4000. Unfortunately, fans don’t believe official tickets would be too cheap either.

Top Comment by ChaseNboots

Just stay at home and enjoy the tournaments and boycott them. If all the true fans and enthusiasts band together...more

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NCAA wrestling fans predict higher ticket prices for 2025

“Prices are going to be way up this year since it’s in Philly. All sports ticket prices are outrageous in Philly, and with PA/NJ basically being U.S. wrestling Mecca this is going to be a hot ticket,” one fan opined in the comments section. While there’s no concrete evidence to substantiate the fan’s higher-priced tickets theory, the user isn’t wrong about the region being a hotbed for college wrestling.

Cael Sanderson alone has turned Penn State into a dominant power in the last 10 years. The coach has led Penn State’s 11 NCAA wrestling championship titles. However, the user wasn’t alone in his speculation. “This year is much more expensive than other years. I assume because of the proximity to PSU,” commented another fan. The Redditor also revealed last year’s prices.

“I still spent $1K for all six sessions last year, and Tulsa was a little higher,” revealed the fan. Another clue was that even single-session tickets on the third-party site are incredibly expensive. For example, the cheapest single-session ticket for March 21, 2025, is currently listed at $234. So, it may be safe to assume that the official prices will fall somewhere between last year’s price and the ones listed on the third-party website.

However, when others were busy theorizing the final ticket prices, one NCAA wrestling fan gave a different solution. “Get cheap tickets and move down when you find empty seats. As popular as that spot will be for this championship, there will be plenty of open seats in the lower bowl,” the Redditor commented. However, only time will reveal the final, official ticket prices for the tournament. Yet, what’s your take on the situation? Tell us in the comments.