Vandy Season-Ticket Sales Highest School Has Seen Since '96

Vanderbilt is approaching “its highest season-ticket sales mark since Notre Dame headlined the home schedule in 1996,” according to Jeff Lockridge of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. Vanderbilt Sales & Marketing Dir Steve Walsh said that “more than 18,000 season tickets have been sold.” There were 12,489 season tickets “sold for coach James Franklin’s first season in 2011.” The high-water mark in the past 16 years occurred in ‘08 when Vanderbilt “sold a little more than 19,000 season tickets that season, and the average home attendance was 38,460.” In ‘96, Vanderbilt “sold more than 25,000 season tickets” (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 8/22).

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: In Pittsburgh, Jenn Menendez reported after moving “37,500 season tickets by the end of July -- 2,800 more than last year” -- the marketing office at West Virginia Univ. “opened single-game ticket sales July 31.” By the afternoon of Aug. 2, sales “were suspended for every home game except Kansas.” WVU AD Oliver Luck said, "We've sold out six of the seven home games. Really, I don't think we've done that before.” He added, "People are excited because instead of the steady diet of Big East teams, there's now new teams to watch" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 8/23).

FEELING BLUE IN THE BLUEGRASS: In Lexington, Jennifer Smith reported with less than three weeks until the Univ. of Kentucky’s home opener, football ticket sales “are down nearly 10,000 tickets since this time last year.” The latest figures from the UK ticket office “have football season ticket sales at 37,154, down 9,751 from this time last season and 14,660 fewer than in 2009” (KENTUCKY.com, 8/21).