Upcoming Syracuse Orange Football dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
Inside the Loud House: which seats to target
The best seats for a Syracuse game are on either sideline between the 30-yard lines in the JMA Wireless Dome. If you want the full picture of formations for less, the upper deck along the sideline is the best value in the building. End zone seats cost the least and suit fans who mainly want to see goal-line action at one end.
Because the Dome is fully enclosed, the usual outdoor questions do not apply. You do not need a shade side, a rain plan or a coat for a November wind. Your real decisions are these three:
- Deck: the lower bowl for closeness, the upper deck for the overview.
- Angle: the sideline for the whole field, the end zone for price.
- Volume: close to the student crowd and band if you want noise, farther away if you want conversation.
Two decks, no weather: seat trade-offs indoors
The Dome opened on September 20, 1980, as the Carrier Dome, on the site of the old Archbold Stadium. It took the JMA Wireless name in 2022, and it remains the largest domed stadium on any college campus. A phased renovation finished in 2024 put on a fixed roof, about two-thirds of it translucent, in place of the old air-supported one. It also added air conditioning, a center-hung video board, new lights and sound, and individual seats where long bleacher benches used to be.
Those new seats cut the listed football capacity to 42,784, down from 49,262 in the bench era. If you see an older figure online, it describes a bigger crowd than the building holds today, and it also explains why tickets for top games are scarcer than they were.
Finding the home side
Look for the field's name. "Ernie Davis Legends Field," dedicated in 2009, is painted between the 45-yard lines on the Syracuse sideline. Seats behind it face the visitors' bench across the field.
Lower bowl or upper deck
The lower bowl puts you near field level, where speed and contact register. The upper deck sideline gives a broadcast-style view of routes and blocking at a lower cost. One caution: the building traps sound, so seats near the student crowd and the band stay loud from kickoff to the final whistle. Check the current section map from Syracuse Athletics before you buy, since the seat replacement may have changed some layouts.
Orange home dates ranked by demand
Pittsburgh Panthers Football is the rival that matters most right now. The schools first played in 1916, have met every season since 1955 and stay annual opponents under an ACC scheduling agreement. Boston College Eagles Football is the other familiar face from the Big East and ACC years.
The date to circle is further out. Penn State Nittany Lions Football and Syracuse played nearly every year from 1922 to 1990, and the renewed series is scheduled for State College in 2027 and Syracuse in 2028. Expect that 2028 home game to be one of the toughest tickets the Dome has seen. The most recent meeting was played at a neutral site, MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. West Virginia Mountaineers Football met Syracuse 60 times for the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy, but no future games are set. Colgate, the earliest rival, comes back in 2028.
- Hardest to get: ranked ACC visitors, Pitt and the 2028 Penn State game.
- Middle tier: Homecoming and the rest of the ACC slate.
- Plenty of supply: September non-conference games.
Getting tickets for a Dome Saturday
Syracuse Athletics sells season and single-game tickets through its ticket office and a MyCuse account, and individual games are listed through Ticketmaster. Donor giving generally decides who gets the best season locations, and students receive a separate allotment. Current plans are posted on the Syracuse Athletics tickets page.
With fewer than 43,000 seats, there is less public inventory for a big game than in the bench era. For Pitt, a ranked ACC opponent or the future Penn State visit, many fans buy on the resale market, and prices often rise late in game week if both teams are winning. Early-season games are easier and usually have more seats available. Each Reserved Seat order comes with a 100% guarantee.
Before kickoff: the Quad, Plaza 44 and getting in
'Cuse on the Quad opens about three hours before each home game at the heart of campus, with tents, food and drink areas, live music, a kids' play zone and college football on big screens. Roughly two hours before kickoff, the players and coaches walk through the crowd to the Dome on the Quad Walk, while the "Pride of the Orange" marching band plays on the steps of Hendricks Chapel. Plaza 44, with statues of Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little, makes a good photo stop on the way.
Inside, the band plays "Down the Field," the 1914 fight song, after each Syracuse touchdown. When the game ends, win or lose, the team joins the cheerleaders and Otto in the end zone for the alma mater as fans link arms and sway. After a win, the band leads the party to Varsity, an off-campus pizza shop open since 1926, where the opponent's banner gets turned upside down.
Transit and bags
CENTRO buses serve the Dome, shuttles run from remote parking lots, and rideshare apps have marked drop-off and pickup spots on game days. Syracuse Athletics requires clear bags at the Dome. The university does not list exact dimensions on the page reviewed for this guide, so check the venue policies page for current size limits, banned items and mobile ticket rules before you go.
No. 44, the 1959 champions and Syracuse's past
Syracuse played its first game on November 23, 1889. It joined the ACC in 2013 after the Big East years and is the only New York school playing football in a Power Four conference.
The peak came under Ben Schwartzwalder, coach from 1949 to 1973. His 1959 team finished 11–0, beat No. 4 Texas in the Cotton Bowl and was the consensus national champion. Sophomore halfback Ernie Davis, "the Elmira Express," starred on that team and in 1961 became the first Black player to win the Heisman Trophy. He is still the school's only winner.
Davis wore No. 44, as Jim Brown did before him and Floyd Little did after. The number was retired in 2005, and the campus ZIP code, 13244, was requested in its honor. Later highlights include Dick MacPherson's unbeaten 1987 regular season, Big East titles under Paul Pasqualoni and NFL Hall of Famers Marvin Harrison and Dwight Freeney.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a sun or shade side at the JMA Wireless Dome?
No. The Dome is fully enclosed with a fixed roof and air conditioning, so sun, rain and wind do not factor into your seat choice.
Which sideline is Syracuse's at the Dome?
The home side is marked by the words Ernie Davis Legends Field, painted between the 45-yard lines on the Syracuse sideline.
Why do some sites list a bigger capacity for the Dome?
The Dome was listed at 49,262 for football from 2003 to 2020. Replacing the bleacher benches with individual seats lowered the listed capacity to 42,784.
When does Penn State come back to Syracuse?
The renewed series is scheduled for State College in 2027 and Syracuse in 2028. The 2028 home game is expected to be one of the highest-demand dates at the Dome.
What does the No. 44 mean to Syracuse fans?
Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and Floyd Little all wore it. The school retired the number in 2005, and the campus ZIP code, 13244, was requested in its honor.