Football season ticket sales at a low in the Harbaugh era
About 84k season tickets sold this year which is the low during the Harbaugh era down from about 92k in 2019.
Along with the defensive line the actual attendance this year will remain a mystery until game time. I would think that many of those 84,000 will be very selective in their attendance and some may sit out the whole year but wish to hold onto long held season tickets.
To me the actual attendance in recent years also is a bit mysterious. The nature of the bowl allows about 85000 to spread out and not look much different than a 100,000 crowd.
As for me and my house? We will be there! Go Blue!!
https://www.mlive.com/wolverines/2021/09/michigan-football-hits-season-…
September 3rd, 2021 at 4:38 PM ^
Every other school is facing this issue, and many schools have it worse including Alabama and OSU.
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
They'll get the 100,000 fans but there are still many tickets for WMU available on mgoblue. The Harbaugh Effect!
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:21 PM ^
The irony of your username and avatar and your unwillingness to acknowledge that the pandemic also plays a role here is making me chuckle.
You are another fan being purposely obtuse due to your desire to see Harbaugh fired.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:55 PM ^
Hello!
September 3rd, 2021 at 2:20 PM ^
HI!
I will have you know that even though I could do without your constant complaining, I do also always upvote your Jessica Alba upvote bait gif!
Go Blue!
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:29 AM ^
Missing this week due to my cousin’s wedding, but I’ll be there most weeks. Still grappling with whether to mask up in the stands or not, but looking forward to being back in the Big House with everyone!
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:37 AM ^
People who schedule weddings on Michigan football Saturdays... I'm not saying they're worse than Hitler, but I'm not NOT saying it either.
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:56 AM ^
Tend to agree! The worst part is, it’s at the Bride’s grandparent’s house so this could have been done anytime. Last weekend for example.. or the one before that… or the one before that…smh
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:59 AM ^
My father told me as a kid that any woman who wanted to get married on a Michigan Football Saturday isn't worth marrying. Took a while but I found a woman who agreed to Jan. 6th (or is it 5th?).
September 3rd, 2021 at 4:19 PM ^
My wife agreed to get married in late August in the heat of Vegas because I told her the next available date for me was December.
She still thinks I'm nuts but she let me win that one.
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:59 AM ^
Normally agree. I'm giving more passes this year since so many had 2020 weddings cancelled and didn't really have a choice without putting it off for another year or more.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:00 PM ^
I will take a Michigan football game over a wedding 100 times out of 100.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:15 PM ^
Same boat here. I strategically told my wife to attend the ceremony solo while I watch our toddler in the hotel, and to get a babysitter for the reception. Crisis averted.
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:30 AM ^
What is that drop compared to other teams though. I know of at least 4 of those seats dropped due to the pandemic only. Canadians were able to drop this year but retain seats for next. I wouldn't be surprised to see that number jump back to 88-90k next year due to that alone. If Team performance improves, could be back to 92+
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:38 AM ^
Good point on the fact that Canadians can't cross the border. I have no idea how many U of M season ticket holders that affects, but I'm guessing it hurts ticket sales for the Detroit Lions even more.
September 4th, 2021 at 12:48 AM ^
Stuff like this matters a lot. The drop is a small percentage of the total but those little differences can make a big big impact at the margins.
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:32 AM ^
I’m one of the biggest Harbaugh haters out there and I even think this has a lot to do with pandemic
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:37 AM ^
It would be extremely surprising if there wasn't a dropoff.
COVID Delta + uncertainty/disillusionment with program + balking at high ticket prices + disgust over in-game experience is not a recipe for healthy ticket sales.
The real test will be 2022; COVID will be a far less prominent concern of daily life, but the other three factors will still be in play.
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:59 AM ^
"COVID Delta + uncertainty/disillusionment with program + balking at high ticket prices + disgust over in-game experience is not a recipe for healthy ticket sales."
This explains it all... The previous posts offered an absolute equation - because of this or that. Sorry (not sorry), but things are never so black and white clear, there are always shades of grey and the answer falls somewhere on the right side of all the inputs.
What is my opinion, you ask? Well, I believe that Covid and Harbaugh equally represent about 70% of that equation, with all the others factors making up the remaining 30%. I have no basis for this gut feel, so don't ask...
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:54 PM ^
I'm glad someone mentioned the prices. We dropped two of our four tickets this year because they are so freaking expensive and the StubHub arrangement (detailed in Seth's post) combined with the likelihood of a not great team made us pretty confident we were going to eat a lot of money on unused tickets.
September 3rd, 2021 at 2:00 PM ^
NittanyFan posted a few days ago about the ridiculous prices. Family of 4 is $280 just for tickets. Easy to “pass” on the WMU and NIU games when you’re talking about that kind of coin.
September 3rd, 2021 at 6:26 PM ^
Tickets are much less expensive on the secondary market this year as well (even with StubHub’s ridiculous fees). If fans don’t have an emotional attachment/history with specific seats, they can attend all home games this year for less than what they paid the AD for tickets.
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:48 AM ^
COVID and the Delta variant do play a part in this for sure (to what extent I don't know), but if the team was winning I guarantee the attendance and season ticket sales would be higher. Also have to remember that the prices keep going higher and higher and enough people are just sitting there saying "No, I'm done paying for this, I'm going to sit at home in front of my big screen and watch for free."
Just a lot of things going against Michigan's way right now. Some of it is self-inflicted, and some of it has nothing to do with them and is just a product of the world around them.
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:49 AM ^
This is the culmination of many things meeting at once; every team is starting to see this trend to some degree. In general, attendance issues are becoming more of "a thing" everywhere. Of course the obvious is overall expectations for UM are quite low and the team was miserable last year.
I can buy tickets to 7 games right now on the secondary market for under $30. I can also find Michigan season tickets for 2021 for less than $350 and a crapload of season tickets for under $400.
I also agree there is a covid impact even if it's some folks saying "I just don't want to deal with the bullshit so give me my beer and tv and screw it". Hell that is more where I am. I'm vaccinated and have had covid twice but working in healthcare I'm just like *&%$ it all, &^%$ covid, and &^%$ you I don't even feel like going to a game this year. It doesn't necessarily mean people are scared or petrified.
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:50 AM ^
Ohio State is having a similar problem. Must be a Ryan Day lack-of-success thing.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:17 PM ^
Right? I already commented as such but I don't think this a is a Michigan specific phenomenon.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:25 PM ^
FIRE RYAN DAY!!!
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:55 AM ^
Just got done meeting with leadership at Riley's Children's Hospital in Indianapolis...We are in the thick of a very serious pandemic, I'm shocked the numbers are as high as they are.
It felt good seeing fans in the stands on TV last night but man, I'm questioning what are we doing here...82,000 people, in the middle of delta..Be safe!
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:34 PM ^
Hopefully all the alcohol consumed before kick off acts as a Covid preventative because I thought the same thing!
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:39 PM ^
I hear that man. I was at a similar meeting with IU leadership last week when they started suspending elective surgeries.
My team has a metric ton of employees at home due to covid...about as many as when the pandemic started.
I was also just diagnosed (sigh...again) with covid. I'm on my 2nd time diagnosed (and really think it's my 3rd time with it). Fun stuff. I am vaccinated fyi.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:53 PM ^
3rd time… sheesh. Take a easy. Get healthy! Pulling for you.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:57 PM ^
Thanks yeah the only thing I'm hoping is that I am the king of immunity at this point between being vaccinated and having it multiple times.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:01 PM ^
Funny - I read the same article a few months back about Ohio State. They however didnt put Day's name in the headline to attract clicks.
September 3rd, 2021 at 1:04 PM ^
It seems that the lower demand for season tickets are attendance in general goes beyond who is the HC or how elite the football program is. This is systematic across a lot of college football these days.
September 3rd, 2021 at 2:45 PM ^
Wow the Harbaugh effect reaches all the way to Ohio State. The Buckeyes should definitely fire Jim Harbaugh!
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:02 PM ^
I wonder how many Canadians that can't cross the border also can't buy their season tickets?
Asking for a friend.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:09 PM ^
Lots of people wait until the morning to buy from scalpers, especially for the cheap games. Now they will wait until right before kickoff to buy them from their ticket app of choice.
Washington at night will be fucking packed.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:10 PM ^
Doesn’t deserve its own thread, but….
Watching the Ohio State game last night, I went into the half feeling that Ohio State would take the 2nd half kickoff and score a touchdown, that’s what the great teams do. Sure enough, they did and took back the lead in a noisy, enemy environment. Their 2nd half featured 6 drives, 4 resulted in TDs, 1 3 and Out and 1 running out the clock to end the game.
I recall Kiffin’s first game at Ole Miss vs Alabama where the teams went into the half tied. In the 2nd half, Alabama had 6 drives, resulting in 6 touchdowns.
I hope to see a more efficient offense this year from Michigan as I feel it’s been the biggest issue in the Harbaugh era.
September 3rd, 2021 at 1:46 PM ^
Thanks John Madden.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:16 PM ^
This isn't something specific to Michigan as far as I can tell. If tickets are down at OSU they are probably down everywhere. If someone can find a fanbase with more to be excited about and less concern for COVID safety let me know. (Now that I say that might apply to the SEC even more so...)
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:18 PM ^
Back when Harbaugh was first hired I thought it would take years being on a waiting list to purchase season tickets when I retire in 2028. I guess that will not be the case. I guess I thought Harbaugh would have more success coaching at Michigan, and thought we would already have been in the playoffs a few times and have beaten OSU half the times already. Never thought Harbaugh would be winless against OSU and being on the coaching hot seat in year 7.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:43 PM ^
Michigan is at 60.5% vaccinated and Delta is raging. Maybe there are some sane people who don't want to be crushed into undersized seats with 40,000 unvaccinated people all around them?
September 3rd, 2021 at 2:01 PM ^
This is the reason I will not be traveling a 1000 miles this year to see a home game. I may have considered going to a home game if Michigan would have required proof of vaccinations.
September 3rd, 2021 at 2:39 PM ^
Money from ticket sales this season is more important to the athletic department than the health of the fans, and than fans being not dead next season.
The pandemic is as bad as its ever been in the U.S. We're just not acting like it anymore.
Fortunately, it's almost exclusively the herd of the pridefully ignorant (willfully unvaccinated) who are hospitalized, in ICUs and dying. But that's no help for the under-12 kids going back to school and health care providers.
They could put 30 or 40 thousand into the stadium much more safely. Or genuinely enforce mask rules. Or require proof of vaccination. Instead they are doing none of that.
And they look back at the Robert Anderson era and lie, "Hey, yeah, but we know better now." while they make the same sort of wildly unsafe choices.
September 3rd, 2021 at 11:14 PM ^
How do they test for the “Delta” variant? The PCR test can’t tell the difference between a cold or flu and COVID-19. That’s why they’re coming out with a new test in December.
September 3rd, 2021 at 12:47 PM ^
You hit the bingo card of asshole posts. Give people reason to shit on Harbaugh and team the day before the first game, and invite what I am sure will be a reasonable covid discussion. With that, I say, fuck off.
September 3rd, 2021 at 1:01 PM ^
There was a post maybe a week ago the Ohio State had lower season ticket sales. As we all know, they are among the elite football programs in the country. So what's the problem, there?
The conclusion was part due to Covid, but also inflated ticket prices, as well as higher costs for food. Also factor in the stay at home crowd because of Hi-Def TV.
Some can blame Harbaugh and I won't argue that but it's only a part of the smaller demand issue. This is systematic across the majority of college football.
September 3rd, 2021 at 1:35 PM ^
And Fox Sports covering the game, and stopping it every 40 seconds for a commercial.
If you don't go tempo, they'll throw in a commercial before you can snap the ball.
September 3rd, 2021 at 1:43 PM ^
OSU is also having trouble selling tickets. This isn’t a Harbaugh prob. COVID is probably driving this more than anything. The sky is not falling.
September 3rd, 2021 at 1:47 PM ^
Interest and price for tickets on the secondary market blows too