NORFOLK, Va. – At a time when college football attendance is declining nationally, Old Dominion University has seen a dramatic increase in ticket sales.
With the home opener against Virginia Tech a week away, ODU has experienced a 72 percent increase in season ticket sales. ODU sold 7,200 season tickets last season but had sold 12,364 through Thursday.
That's an increase of 5,164 season tickets and counting.
The Virginia Tech game will sell out soon, perhaps as early as Friday. As of Thursday evening, 19,667 tickets were out for the game. S.B. Ballard Stadium seats 21,944.
Remaining tickets will go on sale to members of the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation Friday morning beginning at 10:30 a.m. and sales will continue through the weekend.
Only season tickets and the two, three-game mini plans have been available for purchase until now. The mini plans (Virginia Tech, Marshall and Arkansas State or JMU, Liberty and Georgia Southern) are priced at $125 apiece.
Season tickets, which begin at $150, and mini plans will remain on sale as long as tickets are available. To purchase season tickets, CLICK HERE
It costs a minimum of $100 to join ODAF, the University's fund-raising organization. The more than 2,000 ODAF members can purchase an unlimited number of tickets beginning today, priced at $65 apiece.
To join ODAF, CLICK HERE.
R.J. Scruggs, ODU's assistant athletics director for ticketing, says ODU has sold 443 mini plans that include the Virginia Tech game.
This will mark the second time ODU has sold out a game with Virginia Tech without tickets going on sale to the general public. ODU sold out old Foreman Field in 2018, when the Monarchs upset the 11th-ranked Hokies, 49-35.
ODU's season ticket sales compare well with its cross-state Sun Belt rival, James Madison, which is transitioning to FBS this fall. JMU is nearing its school record of 8,000 season tickets.
"This is a credit to everyone in our department who worked so hard and to our fans who care so much about our program," said Dr. Wood Selig, ODU's director of athletics.
"And especially to head coach Ricky Rahne, who turned our program around so quickly."
ODU has the capacity to sell about 14,500 season tickets. The rest of the stadium's 6,500 or so tickets are provided to students, sold to visiting teams or used as complimentary tickets for families of players and recruits.
ODU's once robust season ticket sales declined over recent years in part because the team had a 10-26 record from 2017 through 2019, including a 1-11 record in 2019. ODU then sat out 2020 because of the pandemic, which further dampened fan interest.
The pandemic, which has been blamed on a large downtick in college football attendance nationally, also had an effect on ODU, as some fans were hesitant to venture out in crowds last season.
Dr. Selig credits the uptick in sales to several factors.
First, ODU's performance last season under Rahne enticed many fans to return. The Monarchs began last season by losing six of seven games but then won five in a row to earn their first bowl bid since 2016.
ODU took 5,000 fans to the Myrtle Beach Bowl, where the Monarchs fell to Tulsa, and where their fan base was a huge hit with bowl officials and ESPN.
ODU returns 19 starters – 10 on offense, seven on defense and two on special teams.
The move from Conference USA to the Sun Belt Conference, as well as having Virginia Tech on the schedule, were other factors, he said. The Hokies have a large following in Hampton Roads and Tech fans will surely be juiced up for this game given the loss at ODU four years ago.
Joining the Sun Belt also juiced up ODU's schedule. It gave ODU a yearly game with James Madison, its first in-state conference rival in a decade, as well as East Division rivals Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia State and Georgia Southern. Marshall, the Monarchs' fiercest rival in Conference USA, also joined the East Division.
"We knew from the reaction of thousands of supporters when we moved to the Sun Belt Conference that they were excited about the change," Dr. Selig said. "We're so gratified to see that excitement has resulted in more than 5,000 new season tickets."
Rahne said during Sun Belt media days that ODU fans never developed strong feelings about Conference USA rivals. That's in large part because Conference USA was such a geographically dispersed league. He estimated that ODU's average road trip of 1,000 miles last season will be reduced in half this fall.
"Our fans are going to care about games against teams such as James Madison and App State," he said.
The Sun Belt's East Division is also arguably the best in the nation this side of the Power 5. App State and Coastal Carolina spent time in the Top 25 in recent years and Marshall was a Conference USA powerhouse.
ODU also did away with seat membership fees and reduced prices on many tickets that did not require fees, effectively reducing the price of the vast majority of season tickets.
ODU also implemented a marketing plan that included a heavy emphasis on social media, and the University mailed a letter from Rahne to thousands of former season ticket holders.
There was also a media campaign that was financed by donors.
The campaign was led by Jerry Davis, who founded and is president of The Davis Advertising agency, which has offices in Virginia Beach and Washington, D.C. Dennis Ellmer, president and CEO of Priority Automotive, played a major role, too. ODU has placed hundreds of advertisements in the local media.
"I'd like to thank Jerry Davis and everyone with the Davis Advertising Agency for their efforts," Dr. Selig said. "This was truly a team effort."
The University should have more than one sellout this season. The regular-season finale against JMU on Nov. 12 appears likely to sell out. Like Tech, JMU is expected to bring a large fan contingent to Norfolk.
Most premium seating at S.B. Ballard Stadium is sold out, including the Priority Automotive Club, all suites and all seats in the Cox Business Loge Lounge. Premium seats were all sold out since ODU began playing football in 2009 through last season.
In order to meet the demand for more premium seating, ODU has opened a new area called The Deck that offers a buffet, soft drinks and a cash bar and a place to gather that has a clear view of the field and TowneBank scoreboard. It also features three large-screen TVs.
The area is being marketed to corporations as a place for business people to gather and enjoy a football game while also making contact with potential clients or business partners. Although designed for corporations, it is open to all fans.
For information on The Deck, call Justin Ross at (757) 683-3360.
To purchase season tickets, CLICK HERE
ODU Football Ticket Sales are Booming; Opener Against Virginia Tech is Nearly Sold Out
