Memphis Football Current Season Ticket Sales

Yesterday, Memphis’ deputy athletic director Jeff Crane announced that Memphis has successfully sold 11,000 season tickets for this year’s football team.

As we are still three weeks out from the season, Crane suspects that this number will likely finish around the 12,000 to 13,000 range. While this projection aligns with last season’s figures, it’s worth noting that the numbers have decreased compared to the time when Mike Norvell was at the helm.

This development raises questions about Memphis’ position in the continually shifting landscape of college football.

How are Memphis’ numbers?

In my opinion, Memphis selling 13,000 season tickets for football would by no means be a failure. However, I believe that if Memphis can consistently maintain a strong performance on the field, it’d have the potential to sell 20,000 season tickets, as demonstrated in 2017.

It is worth noting that sports ticket sales have been down dramatically in recent years. But that in large part has not affected most power programs.

Conference Realignment

In the latest wave of conference realignment, the Pac-12 experienced significant departures to the BIG 10 and Big-12. Concurrently, Memphis is on the brink of its inaugural season in the revamped AAC.

Now, it’s more crucial than ever for Memphis to establish dominance within its current league. Despite fans’ reservations about new teams, Memphis competing for championships can drive higher attendance.

With conference realignment far from over, Memphis must take every measure to position itself strategically.

Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium

This summer, discussions arose regarding the financial feasibility of fully upgrading both the FedexForum and Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

While the City of Memphis aims to prioritize the Grizzlies, there’s concern that Tiger football might receive less favorable treatment. The city’s final plan remains uncertain in this regard.

In my opinion, it’s purely speculative. But had the Tigers continued to sell 20,000-plus season tickets, the conversation might be different right now.