Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina today announced kickoff times for its four home Southern Conference games as a part of the upcoming eight-game, conference-only spring football season. WCU Athletics also released its policies and plans for attendance at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field through the spring semester.
 
The first three of WCU's spring home games against VMI (March 6), The Citadel (March 13) and Chattanooga (April 3) are each set to begin at 1:00 p.m. The regular-season finale against Wofford on April 10 is pegged for a 2:00 p.m. kickoff at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. The conference slate will be followed by a 16-team NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff scheduled to begin on April 24.
 
In preparation for this unique spring season, Western Carolina met with campus and local partners to ensure compliance with university, local, and governmental guidelines. To that end, WCU also released the following policies as it relates to ticketing and reduced attendance at home football games through the spring semester based on university, local, and state guidelines – these policies are subject to change:
 
Game Day Parking:

• Campus parking lots will not open until 60 minutes before the announced kickoff time. The Stadium Lot is the only Catamount Club reserved lot for the spring and those spots will be first come, first served for qualifying Catamount Club members only. All other parking lots on campus will be first come, first served for the remaining game ticket holders;
• In accordance with physical distancing guidelines and to prevent crowd gatherings, tailgating and picnicking both pregame and postgame on campus will not be permitted this spring. Gathering and the use of traditional tailgating items such as grills, chairs, and tents, etc., is not approved for the home dates this spring;
• There will be no RV parking – game day or overnight – allowed on campus for the games played in the spring semester.

 
Catamount Club Hospitality Information:

• Pursuant to the governor's executive orders for home games this spring, the Catamount Club will not host its traditional pregame Purple Zone at the Ramsey Center. There will be no standing room only access pass to Paws Porch at Jordan-Phillips Fieldhouse this spring in-game for Catamount Club donors that typically qualify;
• For all premium areas at both Catamount Corner and Paws Porch, those with table reservations will have access to those tables for the season and those seating locations will be physically distanced.

 
Ticketing:

• Western Carolina will not have any general admission seating at any of its home sporting events in the spring semester. Anyone who attends a home event must have a ticket with a specific seat assigned and the bearer must only sit in the assigned seat. All seats in WCU's venues will be physically distanced;
• WCU Football Season Ticket holders have the option to either roll over their pre-paid season ticket payment credit to the fall 2021 football season OR donate the already purchased season ticket payment to the "Whee Are One" Fund, which is WCU Athletics' COVID-19 immediate-use fund to help protect and enhance the student-athlete experience. There will be no season tickets issued for the spring football season;
• Ticket sales for WCU football in the spring semester will be on a single-game basis only. There will be no game-day sales – all presales will conclude each Thursday at Noon before each home game. Tickets – paired in groups of two – will be delivered digitally or with a print at home, or on a smartphone option;
• All tickets regardless of seating location in the stadium will be $30/each and must be purchased in groups of two per physical distancing guidelines;
• Individuals who purchased season tickets for the postponed fall 2020 season in Phase I will be entitled to purchase up to two tickets for each game. Individual Catamount Club members MUST have already purchased season tickets for 2020 to qualify to buy single-game tickets for the spring semester;
• Pursuant to current state of North Carolina Executive Orders, approximately 300 tickets per home game will be allocated to WCU Football season ticket holders who have not asked for a refund as of February 5. These single-game tickets will be sold on a game-by-game basis and information regarding these tickets will be sent via email ten (10) days before each home game deadline to purchase. These reserved game tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis to Priority I ticket holders. Any remaining tickets will be made available to Priority 2 priority ticket holders six (6) days before each game's deadline. Any remaining tickets after Priority 2, will be released to Priority 3 ticket holders three (3) days before each game's deadline. Qualifying accounts will be validated to allow for the purchase of tickets via WCU's online ticketing system;
  • Priority Level 1 – WCU football season tickets purchased on or before June 30, 2020;
  • Priority Level 2 – WCU football season tickets purchased on or before July 31, 2020;
  • Priority Level 3 – WCU football season tickets purchased after July 31, 2020;
• For students, a limited number of tickets will be allocated through an on-campus lottery system. Student entry will be through Gate 3 on the East Side of the stadium.

 
Attendance Responsibilities:

• Entry to the stadium will be allowed only through Gates 1 and 6 (West Side) and Gates 3 and 4 (East Side); player parents will continue to pick-up complimentary tickets at the Ramsey Center near Gate 6 – each player and coach is allocated two tickets each;
• In addition to adhering to assigned seating, face coverings will be required during all home sporting events and must be properly worn at all times even while seated or in concession lines unless actively eating or drinking;
• A strict no re-entry policy to the stadium will be enforced once a ticket holder has entered the venue;
• Fans are asked to exit the venue immediately following the conclusion of the game. The strict no tailgating and no gathering policies remain in place after the conclusion of the game.

 
New This Spring:

• Spectators are strongly urged to adhere to the new clear bag policy for personal belongings as this will become a requirement for entry beginning in the fall of 2021; clear bags enable less contact with gate officials' security inspections upon entry into Whitmire Stadium, helping mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19;
• Beer and wine sales will be available in Whitmire Stadium for fans 21 years of age or older. Fans will need to show their valid ID when purchasing alcohol and may only purchase one alcoholic beverage per valid ID with the ID holder present at the time of transaction. Sales will begin when gates open and close at the end of the 3rd quarter. Alcohol will be sold by the northeast concourse near Gate 3 and in the southwest concourse near Gate 6. Those in Paws Porch will have the opportunity to purchase beer and wine in the Jordan-Phillips Field House;
• WCU Spirit including a pep band, color guard, drum line, cheer and dance will be in attendance at home football games this spring. These spirit groups will not be performing on the field during the season, but will be performing in the stands during the games.

 
For more information on these ticketing policies, please contact the WCU Athletics Ticket Office (Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.)  at (828) 227-2401. For any additional details on priority seating, please contact the Catamount Club at (828) 227-3084. These policies are subject to change.
 
Additional information and attendance policies surrounding Western Carolina's other home spectator events will be released this week.
 
Western Carolina opens the spring with the first of back-to-back road games, traveling to chromatic conference rival, Furman, on Saturday, Feb. 20 with a 2:00 p.m. kickoff at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, S.C. Furman, which did not compete in the fall portion of the 2020-21 schedule, was selected as the preseason favorite to win the conference crown in a poll of the league's media and tagged second by the conference's head coaches.
 
Ticketing and attendance policies for WCU's four conference road games is determined by the host institution.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount Football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/CatamountSports), and Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountsFB).
 
Kickoff Times for WCU's Spring SoCon Games:
Saturday, Feb. 20 – at Furman – 2 pm
Saturday, Feb. 27 – at Samford – 1 pm ET
Saturday, March 6 – vs. VMI – 1 pm
Saturday, March 13 – vs. The Citadel – 1 pm
Saturday, March 20 – at Mercer – 3:30 pm
Saturday, March 27 – at ETSU – 1 pm
Saturday, April 3 – vs. Chattanooga – 1 pm
Saturday, April 10 – vs. Wofford – 2 pm