Qualifying for a bowl game for the first time in Rich Rodriguez’s three years, not to mention a bowl that’s played on New Year’s Day, doesn’t appear to have made an impression among Michigan football fans.
Michigan received 12,500 tickets from the Gator Bowl, while Mississippi State got an allotment of 15,000. Bulldogs fans snatched those seats up. So much so that the school asked for an extra 2,000 tickets.
But Michigan sold only 7,000 of its allotment. The ticket office is still taking orders, and some seats will be held for players and band members, according to the U-M athletic department. But the rest of the tickets will be sent back.
Associate athletic director Dave Ablauf says there’s a demand in Jacksonville for tickets, however. Additionally, Michigan fans who live nearby tend to purchase tickets (usually for better seats) directly from the bowl site. If that’s true, that would obviously affect Michigan’s sales.
The game is considered a sellout. EverBank Field, home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, has a capacity of 77,000.