NIU Has Distributed More Orange Bowl Tickets Than Florida State So Far
(CBS) Considering the Orange Bowl is played in the state of Florida, you would think it would be pretty easy for Florida State to sell more tickets than Northern Illinois for the New Year's Day bowl game.
So far though, that hasn't been the case.
According to WCTV in Tallahassee, Fla., as of Monday, Florida State had only sold about 4,000 of its 17,500 ticket allotment despite cutting ticket prices in half. Meanwhile, Northern Illinois had distributed 5,500 tickets, partially boosted by giving students free tickets to the game.
Schools are on the hook for any money lost by not selling out its bowl ticket allotment and that could be a problem for both universities. The Huskies only averaged 15,760 fans at its home games this season, so selling 17,500 tickets to a game played in Miami isn't very realistic. Meanwhile, according to the report, Seminoles fans are expressing apathy towards playing a MAC school in a BCS game.
Both schools are also being hurt by the secondary ticket market. As of Tuesday morning, tickets for the Orange Bowl were available on StubHub for as low as $10. This has forced Florida State to cut its ticket prices in half, guaranteeing a loss in revenue.
"The secondary markets got a lot of Orange Bowl tickets on it right now for a lot of different reasons," FSU Assistant Director of Athletics for Media and Public Relations Rob Wilson told WCTV. "It's important to us that our fans buy through Florida State because we have a financial commitment to that, so we've cut our tickets in half."
According to the report, the ACC will help cover some of the losses if Florida State can sell 6,000 tickets. The MAC has already pledged to help the Huskies, as Northern Illinois is the first MAC school to ever reach a BCS bowl game and the large bowl payout will help the entire conference.
