Football ticket sales soaring

By Dugan Arnett     Jul 26, 2008

Facts & figures

KU has set records in each of the past three years in its home attendance figures at Memorial Stadium. Here’s the average attendance breakdown in the Mark Mangino era:

2002: 36,0832003: 38,7502004: 41,0672005: 43,6752006: 44,1372007: 46,7842008: ?

If early returns are to be trusted, the amount of wheat waved this season at Kansas University’s Memorial Stadium might reach an all-time high.

According to KU associate athletic director Jim Marchiony, season-ticket sales heading into the season already have exceeded last year’s total, and, with five weeks remaining before the season officially kicks off, those figures are expected to increase substantially by the time the Jayhawks take the field against Florida International in their home opener Aug. 30.

“We know there will be a jump from that,” Marchiony said Friday. “It turns the middle of July, and people start thinking about football season. And we start advertising much more heavily in the newspaper and on television and radio. So we know that number will go up.”

As of two weeks ago – the most recent statistics immediately available – approximately 34,000 season tickets had been purchased for the upcoming season, close to 3,000 more than the team sold total in 2007 and 6,000 more than were sold at this point last summer.

This year also will mark the fourth straight year the team has set a season-ticket sales record, Marchiony said, while the Jayhawks have notched season-attendance average records in each of the past three years.

While it certainly doesn’t hurt that Kansas will play its most prominent home schedule since 2004 – highlighted by games against Texas and Texas Tech – it’s no secret that a program’s ticket sales, generally speaking, have been directly correlated with its level of success.

So on the heels of a 12-1 season in which Kansas won an Orange Bowl trophy and finished the year ranked No. 7 nationally, it should come as no surprise that the Jayhawks quickly have become the hottest ticket in town.

“People are really excited about this football team and what we can do after the success we had last year,” junior quarterback Todd Reesing said. “It’ll be a lot of fun to see how many people come out to those first few games. When Memorial Stadium gets filled, it’s a lot of fun, so we’re hoping for a lot of fans.”

Tickets for individual home games will go on sale sometime in early August.

Despite the recent buzz, however, KU coach Mark Mangino insisted earlier this week that, between the team’s move into the recently completed Anderson Family Football Complex and attempting to prepare for his seventh season at the program’s helm, ticket sales haven’t exactly been high on his list of concerns.

“I guess I should know (the sales figures), but we’ve been so busy moving into a new complex … that I really haven’t checked on it,” Mangino said.

He might want to.

According to a provision in his recent contract extension, which will pay him $2.3 million a year through 2012, Mangino is set to make an extra $125,000 if the school sells 40,000 season tickets by Sept. 1.

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