Virginia Football Announces New Policies for the Hill at Scott Stadium

Originally posted on Virginia Cavaliers on SI
By Aidan Baller | Last updated Oct 2, 2024 11:31 AM ET

The fabled Hill has served as one of the iconic parts of Scott Stadium and Virginia football, serving as part of the student section for University of Virginia students. This year, Virginia athletics announced regulations that limited the Hill to exclusively season-ticket holders, mini-plan buyers, Virginia Athletic Foundation donors, Cavman Crew members, select groups, and UVA students until capacity is reached.

The capacity was regulated with a new fence that surrounded the entrance to the Hill, and the University used a sticker policy to allow people to reenter the Hill. Once stickers ran out, anyone with a sticker could access the Hill for the entire contest. This frustrated many students, especially in the second half when space would be on the Hill as the students who originally earned Hill access had departed Scott Stadium.

To add, student attendance has seen a 37 percent increase this year which has further exacerbated the Hill problem.

For context, these Hill regulations were most likely in response to Virginia Tech fans' field storming via the Hill at the last two Commonwealth Clash games at Scott Stadium in 2021 and 2023.

Today, in response to frustrations, mainly voiced by students, Virginia athletics has announced new policies for the Hill:

Re-entry to The Hill will only be on a first-come, first-served basis. As a result, the issuance of stickers for the purpose re-entry has been eliminated.

When capacity is reached as determined by DSS and UVA Athletics, The Hill will reopen as space allows. There will not be a one-in, one-out policy.

Patrons admitted to The Hill may exit at any time, however re-entry is not guaranteed if maximum capacity is reached.

In an effort to minimize congestion at each of The Hill’s five access points, queuing lines have been strategically positioned at each of these locations.

In summary of these policies, if you leave the Hill at any point during the game, re-entry is not guaranteed, as the sticker policy has been eliminated. Lines have also been added to make Hill access more organized.

In addition to this, Virginia athletics re-emphasized that gates to Scott Stadium open 90 minutes before kickoff.

These new policies will have their first trial run this Saturday against Boston College at noon; with alumni weekend and newly minted alumni potentially bringing their old student IDs for Hill access, it will be an excellent test for the effectiveness of the state of the Hill.