IRVINE, Calif., June 10, 2019 — Paciolan, the leading ticketing service provider for college athletics, has announced college sports fans will be able to add contactless tickets to Apple Wallet and enter stadiums with just their iPhone and Apple Watch. The first schools to offer contactless tickets for the fall 2019 football season include Baylor University, Louisiana State University, Michigan State University, University of Mississippi, Georgia Tech, and Rutgers University.
Students and fans can easily and securely enter stadiums by simply placing their iPhone or Apple Watch near a reader, eliminating the need to search their pockets or worry about misplacing paper tickets. Providing NFC-enabled tickets is the next step in Paciolan’s comprehensive mobile ticketing strategy to help reduce fraud at the gate and assist colleges in better understanding who attends their games.
“iPhone and Apple Watch make going to college sports games easier than ever,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “We’ve said our goal is to replace the physical wallet and students and fans will love the convenience and security of having their tickets right on the Apple devices they carry with them every day.”
“We are thrilled to offer Ole Miss fans the ease of tap-and-go entry with iPhone into our games at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium,” said Michael Thompson, Deputy A.D. for External Relations and Business Development at the University of Mississippi. “We love how the technology will enable us to better know who is in our stands, and we look forward to using this knowledge to provide a more tailored experience to each fan.”
“We are excited to roll out contactless ticketing for our students this football season,” said Brian Broussard, Associate Athletic Director – Ticket Sales & Operations at Louisiana State University. “All 14,000 students will be able to take advantage of tap-and-go mobile technology which will make it a faster and easier process to enter Tiger Stadium.”
iPhone and Apple Watch users will receive their purchased tickets via text message and can add them to Apple Wallet with a single touch. Fans will receive a notification on their lock screen when they arrive at the stadium, giving them easy access to their tickets in Apple Wallet. Fans can then easily and securely enter the stadium by placing their iPhone or Apple Watch near a reader. Contactless ticketing uses near-field communication (NFC) technology and works with handheld scanners, pedestals and turnstiles.
Transferring or gifting tickets to friends and family is easy through the school’s official athletics website.
Contactless tickets significantly reduces fraud risk by eliminating the use of PDF tickets and ultimately the barcode itself, rendering screenshots useless. Paciolan gives venues access to the full custody chain of each digital ticket including if it was re-sold on the secondary market or transferred to another user. This reduces anonymous event attendance, giving athletic programs an unprecedented opportunity to personalize their fan experience and communicate with attendees about future offers and games.
“Contactless ticketing with Apple Pay is a fantastic win for fans and schools alike, and Paciolan is pleased to bring it to our community,” said Keith White, Chief Technology Officer at Paciolan. “This innovation aligns perfectly with our commitment to keeping our clients at the forefront of frictionless mobile fan experiences. It improves security and provides game-changing data capability by increasing the known fan base and giving the ticket office key insights to drive business decisions and maximize revenue.”
About Paciolan
Paciolan, a Learfield IMG College solution, is a leader in ticketing, fundraising, marketing, and analytics solutions with over 39 years of experience serving more than 500 live entertainment organizations. Paciolan enables the sale of more than 120 million tickets per year by powering over 125 college athletic programs, more than 100 professional sports and arenas organizations, 75 performing arts venues, and several regional ticketing partners who serve hundreds of venues. Learn more at www.paciolan.com.