Michigan’s attendance streak was boosted with 60,000+ free tix
Michigan’s streak of home games with over 100,000 people in attendance got a significant assist from comped tickets in 2014.
According to the Detroit News, the school had a significant increase in free tickets given out last season.
There were 62,879 free tickets distributed during the 2014 season that accounted for roughly 8.6 percent of attendance, a sharp increase from the previous season, when 2.8 percent of the attendance came from comp tickets. Even with the comps, the stadium surpassed its capacity of 109,901 only once, and that came in a night game against Penn State.
The last time Michigan had a home game with less than 100,000 was on Oct. 25, 1975. The News says the six-figure mark includes “tickets sold, tickets distributed, staffing, catering employees, university facility and operations employees, the spirit squad and marching band, and the media.”
The increase in the practice, while striking, isn’t all that surprising given Michigan’s struggles in 2014. Not only did the team perform poorly on the field, there was the whole debacle with quarterback Shane Morris and the coaching staff’s handling of his concussion.
You may also remember the promotion last season that saw two tickets (briefly) given away to the team’s game against Minnesota with the purchase of a Coca-Cola product. The school called the promotion a “miscommunication” after a picture of the sign started to spread.
While Michigan is likely to not win the national title in 2015, we’re going to guess comp ticket levels will go back to where they were in 2013, if not lower. With the optimism surrounding former quarterback Jim Harbaugh’s return to the school as a coach, the program won’t be having to beg people to come to football games.
For more Michigan news visit TheWolverine.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
