July 22, 2008
Junior center Bradley Vierling signs an autograph during Tuesday’s
Faculty/Staff cookout on campus.
Purchase Season Tickets Starting at $99
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Season ticket sales for the 2008 Commodore home football schedule continue to show strong results and remain well ahead of projections, Vanderbilt Student Athletics officials said today.
Vanderbilt Athletics Ticket Manager Eric Jones said sales of Vanderbilt’s six-game home game package continue to remain strong. He said 13,764 season tickets have been sold through Tuesday, July 22, a 24.9 percent increase on total sales of 10,986 through the same date one year ago.
“I’m extremely excited about the total numbers we’ve sold at this time. It says a tremendous amount about the way Coach (Bobby) Johnson’s program is preceived in Middle Tennessee,” Jones said. “The trends to date are extremely positive.”
If current levels continue, the Commodores should eclipse the season ticket sales total of 15,171 from a year ago. The 2007 total represented the highest figure since Vanderbilt sold out its ticket inventory in 1996 when the Commodore home calendar featured an opener against Notre Dame and conference finale versus Tennessee.
Ticket orders for the Vanderbilt campaign start at $99. Orders are available on the web at www.vucommodores.com, at the athletic box office in McGugin Center on campus, or by phoning (615) 322-GOLD.
After starting the season at Oxford, Ohio against Miami University on August 28, Vanderbilt hosts Steve Spurrier and the South Carolina Gamecocks in their home opener before a national television audience on Thursday, Sept. 4.
After the South Carolina opener, the schedule includes games against three highly regarding Southeastern Conference opponents: Auburn on October 4, Florida on Nov. 8, and Tennessee on Nov. 22. The Commodores also hosts non-conference games against Rice on Sept. 13 and Duke on Oct. 4.
Jones admitted the Commodores’ home games with four premier SEC teams is an asset to selling tickets. Yet, he believes several initiatives created by the athletic program are driving ticket sales.
“The schedule is a definite factor, but several areas where the program has focused in recent years is having an obvious impact,” Jones said. “Our summer sales academy coordinated by (assistant marketing manager) Rebecca Kelley has enjoyed tremendous success. Our game-day experience at Vanderbilt, with the creation of such activities as Vandyville, is better than it’s ever been for families and college football fans. And you can’t underestimate the impact Coach Johnson is having on the program.”
The sales to date opens the possibility that limited availabilities of single-game tickets for the four SEC games, particularly the Commodore encounters against Auburn and Tennessee. In 2007, season ticket increases left few single-game tickets for the Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky games, all of which eventually became sellouts.