Was a first time season ticket holder last year. Loved every second of it. Cut back this year due to schedule conflicts but plan to get to at least 3 games
I think it’s a bit alarmist to start hand-wringing over preseason ticket sales in July, when, on a macro-level, they are quite literally the best they’ve ever been in recent memory. Perspective is important…
Fair point and I hope you're right. Sitting here end of July we've probably sold more tickets than we ever have before at this point in time going into the season. We've also sold them at higher prices.
I don't know what typical buying trends look like -- it may really ramp that last week before the game.
The only game I'm kinda bummed about is the opener -- the conference games will be fine and cupcakes #2 and #3 don't matter much. We sold about 34K season tickets and there are about 8K student tickets, that's 42K sold before single game tickets went on sale. After three weeks of single game tickets being on sale we've sold 1K more to be at around 43K sold (10K left). 10K is a lot to sell in a month. At this point I just hope we get to 50K, which will look basically full as TMFT has pointed out.
If you're a single game ticket buyer and you have an entire season's worth of games to choose from, you're pretty unlikely to choose a 2:30pm game against ODU on Labor Day Weekend. The game will likely be a blowout, it will probably feel like 95+ in the sun, and even worse thinking about the concrete and metal.
If you have kids at IU, they just got there, you're not making a trip to see them already.....there are way more attractive games than that one.
A holiday weekend isn't good for Band Day.
Maybe when they announce a Hoosier the Bison bobblehead giveaway for that game, and a ticket deal to go with it, some more tickets will move.
Illinois is playing western Illinois Friday night on MDW…they are going to sell that game out. There always is an excuse not to go to IUFB games.
The program is coming off a CFP appearance and have sky high expectations.
There zero excuse as to why they can’t sell over 45,000 tickets for the season opener.
call me skeptical. They may sell all of their seats, but that place won’t be full or anywhere close would be my guess. Last year for their home opener they had just over 40,000. This year tickets for that game are going for $15 each and they’ve also bundled it as a mini package with the Ohio State home game, and you know a lot of people are buying that package just for access to the Ohio State game. They have no intention of attending all of the games in the package.
@gros-louis a sold seat is better than an unsold seat. They’ve done a lousy job marketing tickets in my opinion. Just starting to see ads on social media.
It is what it is. I just thought it’d be different this year.
@gros-louis a sold seat is better than an unsold seat. They’ve done a lousy job marketing tickets in my opinion. Just starting to see ads on social media.
It is what it is. I just thought it’d be different this year.
The fact that our game against Illinois is almost sold out already tells me people are aware and are making choices and roasting in the heat against Sisters of the Poor is not a choice they’re going to make regardless of the marketing.
@gros-louis we’ll see. It will be interesting to see how like programs playing worse or equal competition draw.
@thehoosierhuddle well, I’m not sure excuse is the right word here. No one is making excuses. People either buy the tickets or they do not. Who is going to make an excuse and for what? There are reasons to be understood if the game is not sold out and perhaps some action could be figured out by the AD to help the situation but the people are ultimately responsible to buy the tickets and go to the game.
@walt542 Here's what I have heard as "Reasons" to not go to IU Football games since I have been covering the team.
They're not good
The game starts too early
The game starts too late
It's Friday and HS Football night
It's too hot
It's too cold
They don't play anyone (sure win)
They are just going to lose
The list goes on.
It's a choice and I understand that people aren't there yet in terms of making it a priority and if that's the case just say it. It's no big deal to say, "It's just not a priority right now".
That's fine and dandy, just don't blame something else.
There is NO reason why IU can't get 50,000 people in the stadium with 40,000+ undergrads on campus other than attending football games is just not a priority.
@walt542 Here's what I have heard as "Reasons" to not go to IU Football games since I have been covering the team.
They're not good
The game starts too early
The game starts too late
It's Friday and HS Football night
It's too hot
It's too cold
They don't play anyone (sure win)
They are just going to lose
The list goes on.
It's a choice and I understand that people aren't there yet in terms of making it a priority and if that's the case just say it. It's no big deal to say, "It's just not a priority right now".
That's fine and dandy, just don't blame something else.
There is NO reason why IU can't get 50,000 people in the stadium with 40,000+ undergrads on campus other than attending football games is just not a priority.
Well, that's what people are saying when they give those reasons. I've missed maybe 3-4 games since 1991, but I recognize that it's convenient for me, living in Bloomington. I don't have to drive 3+ hours each way like our fans in Ft. Wayne or South Bend.
Just on my street, I have a neighbor that works 2.5 jobs, one that is working and going to school, one that's on disability and several with kids under 5 years old. It's not easy for everyone, even those that live right in Bloomington, to drop a few hundred bucks or more and go to a football game. And if they DO save up and are able to go once a year? It's usually not against the Sisters of the Poor on a holiday weekend when it feels like 90+ in the stadium.
If I have a kid playing a sporting event, I'm not missing it. Yes, IU football is a huge priority for me, but it's not a bigger priority than being there to support my kid at their event.
IU football is a huge priority for me, but if I have a chance to go see Texas v Ohio State instead of IU-ODU, there's a good chance I'm going to Columbus.
Here's some more info...for some people, it can be too hot. My mom can't sit out in the raging heat for the early afternoon games. She has no thyroid and her body temp doesn't regulate as well. So yes, IU football isn't a priority over staying out of the emergency room that day.
Watching us beat Charlotte 52-14 last year was fine for a diehard like me, but people might also enjoy watching 3 games at once where at least 1-2 are competitive, from the comfort of their air conditioned living room or basement. USC-Michigan. Illinois-Nebraska. Tenn-OU were all ranked-on-ranked games that week.
Lastly, we're probably the smallest to 2nd smallest community in the Big Ten. We don't have as many people within 30 minutes of the stadium as the vast majority of the Big Ten.
It’s not easy for everyone, even those that live right in Bloomington, to drop a few hundred bucks or more and go to a football game.
A number of years ago when I was in better physical shape but dirt poor I could and did go to a couple games a year thanks to comp tickets I got from FedEx (I dealt with them on a continual basis in my job). Now that I'm retired and in decent financial shape, I'm not up to it physically. I went to the WKU game last year and had a really hard time. Had to pass on going to the Washington game.
@gros-louis you make many good points. The small community is the one that sticks out to me. I have three kids in Bloomington that do not go to games unless I buy tickets for them, they are just not interested mostly because they are not interested in sports much. I believe that is true with a percentage of all communities so a smaller one has many fewer people that might be interested.
I get why people don't go to certain games -- the reasons people cite make sense and no one is obligated to go. However, almost all of those reasons are present at other schools that manage better attendance.
At the end of the day, while it's changing, we still have a small FB fanbase / limited interest. On the bright side the B1G games look pretty good in terms of tickets sold, the only surprising one (at least to me) is the opener, I thought people would be missing gamedays and interested in seeing our new guys (notably the QB). Is what it is though, it's not going to look very good.
However, almost all of those reasons are present at other schools that manage better attendance.
And nearly all those other schools have a better football tradition. Attendance has improved and will continue to improve as long as the product on the field merits it. But expecting that to happen overnight is unrealistic. We've been burned before.
@unclemark You picked one snippet of my post there, sir!
That's true other schools have better tradition. But not all of those other schools went to the CFB playoff last year and have a top-25 team going into this year with a QB many analysts are picking to be a first rounder. And our stadium isn't very big either -- it's not too hard to fill.
As for getting burned... I don't think that applies to going to the home opener (aside from the sun). Seems like that would apply to games later in the season where people may wait and see how we do with the earlier games.
I've never expected anything to happen overnight with our football fan culture. I just wish we were a little further along with getting people to jump on board, and that's really only for the opener. But as I keep saying, is what it is.
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