More than 95% of '17 UW football general public season-ticket holders again purchased packages for '18GETTY IMAGES
In Madison, Todd Milewski notes Wisconsin opens the season tomorrow against Western Kentucky with a "season ticket base of 66,540," down by 2,173 (3%) from '17. The rate of season-ticket renewals for the UW football team has "become a predictable level." More than 95% of '17 UW football general public season-ticket holders "again purchased packages" for '18. It is the "sixth straight season" that UW has reported a renewal rate of 95% or 96%. On the heels of the school's 13-1 season in '17, season-ticket prices "climbed by $6 per game this year, to $54 per game (WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, 8/30).
FEELING BULLISH: In Tampa, Joey Knight noted USF has "sold 16,491 football season tickets, slightly more than a 1,000-ticket increase from this time last season and one of its best figures in the last half-decade." Student-ticket signups for Saturday's home opener against Elon are at "roughly 2,200." USF indicated last month that a "number of promotions, including $99 season tickets in the lower level, helped boost sales" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 8/29).
LACKING A PACK: In Hartford, Alex Putterman in a front-page piece noted UConn football’s win-loss record has dipped the past few seasons, and attendance "has fallen with it." Ticket sales are "down sharply once again." A UConn spokesperson said that the school has "allocated about 9,000 season tickets for the upcoming season," a 44% decline from '17 (16,000). UConn has "allocated about 17,000 tickets" for tonight's season opener against UCF, "leaving more than 20,000 seats unaccounted for." UConn AD David Benedict said that the school will "make an effort to improve the Rentschler Field game-day experience." UConn will have "shuttle services between parking lots and the stadium, a 60-minute happy hour featuring discounted food and drinks in the period after gates open" (HARTFORD COURANT, 8/29).
PIRATE PROBLEMS: In North Carolina, Ronnie Woodward notes ECU is "expecting an announced crowd of about 35,000" for Saturday night’s season-opening game against NC A&T, which would put the school in position to have an "attendance below 40,000 for a home-opener for the first time" since '06. ECU Associate AD/Ticket Sales & Service Scott Lane said that a "little more than 32,000 tickets had been distributed." He added that "most of the empty seats should be in the upper deck on the north side" of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. ECU was at 12,792 season tickets sold as of yesterday morning, and Lane said that the "goal is to reach 13,000." ECU sold 16,157 season tickets last season, a number that also was "down about 3,000 from the previous year" (Greenville DAILY REFLECTOR, 8/30).
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY? In Minneapolis, Chip Scoggins notes Minnesota "anticipates attendance in the low 40,000s" for tonight's opener against New Mexico State, a figure that "includes more than 5,000 ticket giveaways to incoming freshmen." The "inability of a Big Ten program to sell out a 50,000-seat stadium for a season opener is disheartening." UM is still "trying to create that deep emotional attachment in a crowded sports market" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/30). A Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE editorial states that UM AD Mark Coyle and his team are "pursuing a number of promising new sales strategies, including more proactively going after new customers such as corporations and groups and offering better pricing on football and hockey tickets." But they are "facing strong headwinds and a jaded fan base" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/30).
