The five most expensive game tickets in college football
What college football games are drawing the most expensive prices on the secondary ticket market? Must be games involving coach Urban Meyer's defending champion Ohio State, right? Wrong. If not the Buckeyes, then it must be Nick Saban's Alabama. Nope. It's not the Crimson Tide either.
The program that's generating the highest ticket prices in the online secondary ticket market is Brian Kelly's Notre Dame. Despite their disappointing 8-4 record in 2014 (after a 6-0 start), the Fighting Irish are poised to play in four of the Top 10 most in-demand games on the online secondary market, according to Vivid Seats.
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As of Aug. 31, the school's "Shamrock Series" home away from home game against Boston College at Fenway Park is the most wanted ticket for 2015 season, according to Vivid Seats. That's driving prices through the roof. Median ticket prices for the Nov. 21 game are $900 — with a "get-in" price of $620 for the worst seats in the venerable Boston ballpark.
As the only school with its own national TV deal (thank you, NBC Sports), Notre Dame has a huge national following. The high ticket prices are an indication that Fighting Irish fans — no matter what the team's record — are still willing to pay through the nose for a program that has not won a national championship since 1988.
"Notre Dame football tends to be a big draw just in general, and coupled with big-time opponents and unique venues, that certainly can make games very high in demand," said Vivid spokeswoman Amy Hyerczyk. "Same for Alabama — especially when it’s an SEC opponent."
With home games against Texas and USC in South Bend, Notre Dame boasts the highest home average ticket price of $332.09, according to Chris Matcovich of TicIQ. This year's average is the highest in five years for any school during the pre-season, he said.The rest of the most expensive home ticket prices round out this way: No. 2) Georgia: ($235.47); No. 3 Texas A&M ($200.69); Tennessee ($199.46) and Ohio State ($197.79).
Meanwhile, don't forget about Michigan and new head coach Jim Harbaugh. Ticket prices for Wolverines games are up 51% to $171.14 from $112.64 at the same time last season since Harbaugh returned to Ann Arbor, according to TicIQ.
Notre Dame also accounts for the most on-demand game at TicIQ. But unlike Vivid, Notre Dame's home game against Texas on Sept. 5 is posting the highest ticket price at $829.29. The rest of TicIQ's Top 5 most expensive games nationwide are Alabama at Georgia ($684.44), Alabama at Auburn ($614.64), USC at Notre Dame ($590.81) and Georgia at Florida ($535.32).
The number of fans who purchase their game tickets on the secondary market varies depending on the school, the stadium and the matchup. Sometimes the number is very low. But sometimes it approaches nearly 50 percent, according to experts. Here's a closer look Vivid Seats' five most expensive 2015 college football games.
