Cal Football Sees Surge in Ticket Sales

By Erin Cooper Daily Californian
Berkeley, CA (U-WIRE) -- After Cal's record-breaking 2004 football season, the Cal Athletic Office is experiencing a substantial rise in ticket sales and has predicted an even greater influx of football fans for the upcoming season. After several months of season ticket sales, single-game tickets will go on sale at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday at Calbears.com.
Last season, Cal broke records in game attendance, with more than 33,000 season tickets sold and an average of 64,000 in attendance per game, nearly doubling the average of 38,000 for the 2003 season.
"It was the biggest one-year increase in Division I football from the last 12 years of any college in the nation" said Matt Terwilliger, Cal director of ticket sales and advertising.
Officials are currently investigating whether last year's attendance was the biggest one-year increase in the history of college football.
Season ticket sales have already passed the 27,000 mark and are expected to reach 40,000. Over 700 season tickets have been sold in the few days before single tickets go on sale, as last-minute takers try to buy before incoming freshman are able to purchase their tickets next month.
The University of Southern California game, hosted by Cal this season, is the most popular and is expected to sell out within a week, officials said.
"That game's going to sell out way before the start of the season," Terwilliger said. The Big Game against Stanford University could also sell out, with only 4,300 student tickets available, Terwilliger said.
Much of the volume of ticket sales can be attributed to alumni, who receive a 20 percent discount on season ticket sales. There are 65,000 alumni in the greater Bay Area and their attendance in the last few years has jumped from around 400 to between 2,500 and 3,000.
Games are especially popular with former students who have graduated within the past 10 years.