Prices Dropping, But Limited Tickets Available For Indiana Fans in Playoff Game at Notre Dame

The few options Indiana fans have to purchase tickets to the College Football Playoff game at Notre Dame on Dec. 20 will be expensive.

An aerial view of Notre Dame Stadium as the Fighting Irish play Temple in 2017. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana fans hoping to attend the Hoosiers’ College Football Playoff game at Notre Dame will have to pay a pretty penny.

Indiana received the No. 10 seed in the College Football Playoff, setting up a first-round matchup against No. 7 seed Notre Dame on Friday at 8 p.m. ET at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind.

In its first season under coach Curt Cignetti, Indiana set a program record with 11 wins. That led to a significant boost in fan excitement as Memorial Stadium sold out for the final home games, something that hadn’t happened since 1969, when it hosted five sell-out crowds. 

The historic season continues with a chance to compete for a national championship, but options to experience that will be limited and expensive for Indiana fans. Chris Vannini of The Athletic reported that playoff hosts will handle the first-round games similar to a home game.

“Visiting teams will receive 3,500 tickets, with a maximum of 500 of those available to the band,” Vannini wrote. “The fans can be split up into no more than two blocks, with at least 1,500 in the lower bowl. The visiting team will decide where its band sits, but it must have access to the field.”

So how can Indiana fans access that limited amount? IU Athletics laid out the options in a recent email.

"Unfortunately, visiting teams are provided with access to a very limited number of tickets to first-round CFP games, many of which are designated for the families of our players and coaching staff," it read. "If you are interested in attending IU’s first-round CFP game against Notre Dame, I encourage you to visit Ticketmaster or to explore ticket options through fan-to-fan marketplaces such as SeatGeek."

As of Dec. 9, the cheapest options on Ticketmaster were $1,330 for a single ticket; $1,083 apiece for two seats next to each other; $1,488 apiece for a group of three tickets; and $1,083 apiece for a group of four seats in the 100 section, furthest from the field.

Prices have dropped significantly over the last week, though. As of Tuesday morning on Ticketmaster, the cheapest options were $453 for a single ticket; $521 apiece for two seats next to each other; $593 apiece for a group of three tickets; $582 apiece for a group of four tickets; and $641 apiece for a group of five tickets.

However, if the Hoosiers beat Notre Dame, there may be more ticket options for Indiana fans in the quarterfinals, which would be against No. 2 seed Georgia on Jan. 1 at 8:45 p.m. ET on ESPN in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La. IU Athletics explained the options for that game in the email.

“If the Hoosiers win their CFP opener and advance to the CFP quarterfinals, we will have access to a larger allotment of tickets for the potential match-up against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl,” the email read. “We are now accepting ticket requests for that game. THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST IS WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18.” 

“Please be aware that acceptance of your online order DOES NOT guarantee that your request will be fulfilled. Game ticket requests will be fulfilled based on the IU Athletics Priority Point system.  During the submission process, you will provide a form of payment for your online request. But your card will not be charged unless your request is fulfilled.  IU reserves the right to deny your ticket request or fulfill your request at a lower price point.”

To access the CFP quarterfinal ticket request, CLICK HERE.

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