Business is booming at Michigan when it comes to football ticket sales.
As of Tuesday, the university had sold 91,934 season tickets for its seven-game home schedule this fall, associate athletic director and head of communications Kurt Svoboda told MLive.
That figure, which is made up of 71,578 regular, full-priced season tickets and 20,356 student season tickets, is the highest in the Jim Harbaugh era and most sold since 2007.
According to financial documents submitted to the NCAA and obtained by MLive via public records request, Michigan reported 91,126 season tickets sold for the 2017 season, the previous high under Harbaugh. The 2019 season marks the second time Michigan has topped the 90,000 mark when it comes season-ticket sales since he was named head coach in December 2014.
Michigan reported lower figures for the 2015, 2016 and 2018 seasons: 87, 989, 87,768 and 87,843, respectively.
Michigan season ticket sales under Harbaugh:
(*Compiled via NCAA financial disclosure forms and data provided by the University of Michigan)
2015: 87,989 (69,990 regular/ 17,999 students)
2016: 87,768 (70,089 regular/ 17,679 students)
2017: 91,126 (70,158 regular/ 20,968 students)
2018: 87,843 (69,616 regular/ 18,227 students)
2019: 91,934 (71,578 regular/ 20,356 students)
Michigan does not disclose season-ticket prices publicly, but says on its website that season ticket holders “receive the lowest averaged price across all games.” An additional minimum contribution of $150 is required to get on a list to even be considered for season tickets. According to the school, 83 percent of the 877 new requests for 2019 were offered the ability to purchase season tickets.
Students were charged $175, plus a $15 processing fee, and given a specified window in March and April to purchase season tickets.
While the year-to-year fluctuation of season ticket sales is nearly impossible to pinpoint, Michigan officials typically point to the favorable home schedule during odd-ending years. For instance, the 2017 season included home games against popular rivals Michigan State and Ohio State. Michigan’s 2019 home schedule includes both schools and Notre Dame, another national brand and with a long history of playing the Wolverines.
Helping matters is on the on-field product, which is set to debut a new spread offense and returns several starters from last season, including quarterback Shea Patterson. Michigan is also the preseason favorite to win the Big Ten.
Michigan has already sold out of tickets for four of its home games at the 107,601-seat Michigan Stadium: homecoming vs. Iowa (Oct. 5), vs. Notre Dame (Oct. 26), vs. Michigan State (Nov. 16) and the regular-season finale vs. Ohio State (Nov. 30).
The school still has an “extremely limited inventory” of tickets for sale for the Aug. 31 season opener vs. Middle Tennessee State, Sept. 7 game vs. Army and Sept. 28 game vs. Rutgers, Svoboda says.
While the 91,934 mark this season is a new high under Harbaugh, it still falls below the 92,376 season tickets sold by Michigan in 2007, a figure fueled by 23,584 student season tickets. The Wolverines were coming off an 11-win season in 2006 and Rose Bowl appearance.
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