Football ticket sales reach 13-year high

A 2-0 start and a highly-touted offense for the IU football program have IU’s athletics ticket office fulfilling the most football season ticket orders in 13 years.

IU Athletics Director Fred Glass said Wednesday that 21,125 season tickets have been sold for the home football schedule, thanks in large part to swift student sales.

“I’m really glad that our season ticket base is solidifying and that we’re breaking through that 20,000-ticket mark that has been a bit of a glass ceiling for us for the last 15 years,” Glass said.

As of Wednesday, 7,109 student season packages had been sold, Glass said, up from 5,993 sold for the Hoosiers’ 4-8 campaign in 2009. The student sales also mean that IU athletics has sold more student season tickets this year than any point since 1997.

“We’re hoping that will translate into 11,000 or 12,000 a game or maybe even more for some of the Big Ten games,” Glass said. “I think it’s a good, healthy indicator of the way this program is perceived.”

A year ago, total season ticket sales for a six-game home schedule at Memorial Stadium equaled 17,312, meaning general season ticket sales to non-students rose nearly 20 percent this season.

Overall, IU football attendance rose by an average of 10,051 fans last season to 41,883 — the third-largest rise in the nation.

The Hoosiers finished with a 3-3 home record last year.

Glass implemented an improved price for student seating at football games a year ago with $5 tickets available prior to the day of the game. This season, the $5 tickets returned and are now available at that price the day of the game.

Season tickets — retroactively priced to $25 as just five games remain on the home schedule — are still available prior to Saturday night’s game against Akron, Glass said.

Glass opted to stick with the $5 plan after the student section required expansion for three games last season, including student section sellouts for games against Ohio State and Purdue.

“I’m very much focused on attendance over revenue,” Glass said of the student price. “Revenue is important, and we can’t overlook that, but my main goal is to get people in the stands.”

The $5 pricing scheme for students also covered students from other colleges and universities with the exception of the day’s opposing school. That policy returned for this season.

“The students create a fun environment,” Glass said. “It’s not just fun for them, but for old guys like me that come and sit in the stands. They want to see the students having fun.”

A year ago, Glass instituted a number of stadium experience changes as first-year head of the athletics department.

This season, the department rolled out a brand-new video board and sound system. The video board, one of the 10 largest in the nation, permits a crisp, high-definition picture on its 36-by-91 screen.