KU has already nearly matched last year’s season-ticket total seven months before the seasonGETTY IMAGES
Kansas' hiring of Les Miles as its football coach "appears to have already made an impact," as AD Jeff Long said KU has sold more than 9,000 season tickets for '19, according to Jesse Newell of the K.C. STAR. The number of season tickets sold is 97% of the total KU "secured last season." The numbers are "especially promising because of the timing." Last year, KU had "not made an option available in February for football renewals and new ticket sales." Long said that this year the school "opened the process earlier." He said that the results have been "positive so far," with KU "nearly matching last year’s season-ticket total with seven months left before the season." The potential ramifications "are significant." According to the school’s financial documents released for FY '18, KU brought in $3,987,802 in football ticket revenue, compared to $15,855,254 from men’s basketball. KU Deputy AD/External Engagement Chris Freet said that 81% of KU’s football season-ticket holders from last season "had renewed." While it was "difficult to compare year-over-year numbers," KU’s belief is that it is about 25-30% ahead of the last few years’ pace (K.C. STAR, 2/8).
HOOKING FANS IN: Texas AD Chris Del Conte said that football season-ticket prices would "remain frozen for a fourth straight year even as the program’s trajectory tracks upward." In Austin, Brian Davis notes the UT athletic department also "streamlined the actual pricing itself, doing away with different price models for renewing season ticket holders and new ticket buyers." For '19, there is "only one price for each seat." However, Davis notes UT is "raising the price of single-game tickets" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 2/8).
