Football Ticket Sales Hit Record High
Previous season, bowl game help attract fans

By CJ Moore

August 29, 2006

The Jayhawks broke a nearly 40-year-old ticket sales record. A solid home record and new players help keep interest in the team.

With the Kansas football team coming off its best season in 10 years and first bowl victory since 1995, KU fans are showing a hoops-like interest in the football team.

The Jayhawks have sold an all-time record 28,100 season tickets for the 2006 home schedule, the Kansas Athletics Department announced Monday afternoon. The previous record for season ticket sales was in 1969, when the team sold 27,700 season tickets following an Orange Bowl appearance the previous year.

“There is an anticipation for this year,” associate athletics director Jim Marchiony said. “Even though we lost a lot of players, we’ve got very good players coming in that people are excited about.”

In 2005, Kansas sold approximately 26,700 season tickets and averaged a school record 43,675 fans during its six games at Memorial Stadium. Six of the Jayhawks’ seven victories were in Lawrence last year, including the team’s first victory against Nebraska since 1968. The 40-15 victory against Nebraska was the largest home crowd ever to witness a game at Memorial Stadium, 51,750 fans.

Because of an NCAA rule change allowing 12 regular season games, Kansas has upped the number of home games to seven and will again add another home game in 2007.

Marchiony said fans were also excited about the team’s finish last season. The Jayhawks won four of their final five games, including a 42-13 victory against Houston in the Fort Worth Bowl.

Kansas students helped break the season ticket sales record by purchasing roughly 7,800 sports packages to date.

Sports combo packages for students cost $150 and are still available at the Allen Fieldhouse ticket office.

Kansas opens the season at home 6 p.m. Saturday against Northwestern State. Individual tickets may also be purchased for football home games.

Kansan staff writer C.J. Moore can be contacted at cjmoore@kansan.com.

Original article published by The University Daily Kansan and can be viewed here.