How to Get Affordable College Bowl Tickets

College bowling season is here and with all the bowling going on, every college football fan dreams of going to a bowling game. However, sometimes the prices of these tickets scare fans. I am affiliated with several reputable ticket agencies and some patterns have been observed when it comes to ticket availability and pricing. Hopefully you can save a few bucks by following some of my tips.

1. Large events generally sell out the day they go on sale. For many college bowl games, this ticket allocation goes to students, faculty, alumni, season ticket holders, and donors. For a large school like Ohio State or USC, the chances of buying Ticketmaster tickets are slim at best, with very few available when they come out. Once tickets hit the secondary market, they are usually priced higher for a couple of days to test the market. I looked at the prices for this year’s College Bowls and almost all ticket prices dropped after the first week, with the exception of the BCS Championship between OSU and LSU. Experts estimate that the average ticket will cost about $1,200 for this game. Lesson #1: Wait to see if prices drop after the first few days.

2. Put an ad on Craigslist or in your local online newspaper stating that you would like to purchase tickets and name your price. When it comes to strangers, it’s usually best to get your tickets from an alumni since you know your tickets are valid and most of the time alumni are proud of their school and don’t want to make a killing with tickets. Getting tickets from students is fine too, however sometimes a student promises her tickets, then changes her mind and runs out of tickets. This happened with some of my clients for the OSU/Michigan game.

Lesson #2, Know and trust who you are dealing with.

3. Never pay more than you can afford. The hype that goes with some of these games really drives up the prices. Your local pub is open and waiting for your business and you can enjoy the game without freezing or getting wet. Although most Bowl games are played in the southern states, it can still get very cold in December and January. Lesson #3, Resist temptation, live frugally.

4. Check reputable online ticket sites often to find desired tickets. The inventory on these sites is constantly changing, and if you’re persistent, the tickets you want may be just a click away. Don’t hesitate to go to Ticketmaster the week before a big game because sometimes brokers can’t sell your tickets on the secondary market and will list them at face value on Ticketmaster so they can get rid of them. Finding College Bowl tickets on Ticketmaster will be rare, but it’s worth a try. Just think, you’ll have bragging rights for your persistence.

I’ve mentioned the word persistence more than a few times and I’ll end by saying that persistence is the key to getting College Bowl tickets you can afford. Information on College Bowl tickets can be found at Dazzling Deals Tickets or on this blog about trusted online ticket vendors.