Dave Feit: The Nebraska Football Sellout Streak at 400

Regardless of what we think about the streak as it exists today - and what might happen in the future - we've earned the right to celebrate our achievement.

Nov 7, 2015; Lincoln, NE, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive back Joshua Kalu (10) celebrates with teammates after defeating the Michigan State Spartans 39-38 at sold-out Memorial Stadium. / Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

When Nebraska plays Illinois on Friday night, it will be the 400th consecutive sellout of Memorial Stadium.   

 It is an amazing achievement that should be celebrated.   

 Period. 

 But let's face it:  the Streak also comes with some baggage and legitimate concerns about its future. 

 *** 

 Let's start by resetting the narrative regarding the Sellout Streak: 

 The Sellout Streak, in a literal and technical sense, still exists. 

Every single home football game ticket available to the general public since Nov. 3, 1962, has been sold.  This is factual and undeniable.   

 Nebraska's Sellout Streak has never been about perfect attendance, scanned-ticket counts, students or fans who didn't show up, or how many people stayed until the clock hit 0:00.   

 It has always been about selling all of the available tickets.  And by that definition, Nebraska has sold out 400 straight games. 

 The Sellout Streak has needed help to get to 400. 

The Streak - possibly in the past, definitely in recent years - has only survived due to administrators, donors, corporate sponsors, and others doing whatever was needed to keep it alive.  I would hope this is indisputable as well. 

 The Sellout Streak may not end anytime soon. 

If the Streak was not allowed to end during the last three years of the Scott Frost era - when Bill Moos and Trev Alberts had multiple off ramps available - it may not end anytime soon.  More on that in a bit. 

 The Sellout Streak has taken on symbolic meaning. 

There was a time when the Streak was simply a factual reality.  Nebraska had tickets.  Nebraska fans bought every single one for every single game, every single year, since 1962. 

 But in the last 5-10 years, the Streak has evolved into a symbol of the passion, dedication, and loyalty that Nebraska fans have displayed across multiple generations.  It is the only remaining tie to the days of Bob Devaney, Tom Osborne, and glorious past that we love to celebrate.  The reverence for that symbolism has only grown as the legitimacy of the Streak itself has become harder to defend. 

 The Sellout Streak is polarizing within the Nebraska fan base. 

Husker fans tend to fall into one of two camps regarding the Streak: 

• The Streak is a sacred, unbreakable record that perfectly illustrates the passion, loyalty, and dedication of Nebraska fans.  All the tickets were sold, and that’s the only thing that matters.
• The once proud accomplishment has devolved into a "Weekend at Bernie's"-esque facade, artificially propped up by donors and/or corporate sponsors buying unused tickets at deep discounts. 

*** 

 Personally, I live in both camps.  I'm on record that the Streak, which has long been a source of pride now comes with a very visible asterisk.  I've also expressed frustration with NU selling tickets for pennies on the dollar to maintain the Streak, while loyal season ticket holders are not getting any such discounts. 

 But if I had a dollar for every time I've defended the Streak in my lifetime, I could afford to buy up the unsold tickets that remain over the next few seasons.  And I continue to do my part to maintain the Streak beyond arguing with trolls on the Internet.  The first Husker ticket I bought was for consecutive sellout #189.  Aside from the COVID season in 2020, I've held a ticket for every game since, attending all but four games.  I’ll be there for #400 and have no plans to stop going to home games.   

 I've made my peace with the life support system the Streak has been on.  I don't like it, but it is what it is.  I know the Streak remains sacred to many people.  But I also understand the multitude of things working against the Streak each and every week.  These are the reasons why the Streak won't last forever. 

*** 

Sep 23, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; A Nebraska Cornhuskers fan celebrates during the third quarter against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

 Strip out the passion, loyalty, dedication, and fanfare.  Get rid of the donors and corporate sponsors. 

 At its core, the Sellout Streak is a basic economics question:  Is the demand for tickets greater than the supply of tickets?  For 400 straight home games, the answer has been yes. 

 But as I learned when I took Microeconomics at UNL (circa Sellout #200), there are a lot of things that factor into the supply and demand equation.  Demand is impacted by price point, quality of product, perceived value for the money, customer experience, secondary markets and other alternatives (i.e., TV), and so much more.  Those things are absolutely critical to maintaining a loyal base and drawing new customers. 

 Tickets from the NU Ticket Office are expensive - especially if you tack on the "donation" required to be a season ticket holder.  For most games, a person can easily find seats at a discount on the various secondary markets (including the "official" one promoted by NU).  Why pay face value for a nosebleed seat - especially for a matchup like UTEP or Northern Iowa - when there are hundreds of better tickets available on the secondary market, often at a deep discount? 

 Meanwhile, the at-home experience has never been better - or cheaper - than it is today.  For what I paid for a single season ticket, I could buy a 75" 4K Smart TV, and use my "donation" to cover the cost of BTN and Peacock.  Memorial Stadium is one of the great cathedrals of the sport, but it does not have the amenities or comforts of many other stadiums - especially for fans who are taller (or wider) than people were when the Streak began in 1962. 

 And last - but certainly not least - the product on the field has declined.  Husker fans want to support a winner (Nebraska has won 81% of the 399 games in the Streak's history), but recent years (28-28 at home between 2015 and 2023, even with a 7-0 mark in 2016) have made it tough to justify the time and expense involved with buying tickets.  All of these things - and more - impact demand. 

 Meanwhile, Nebraska's supply of tickets has (with a few exceptions) risen steadily since 1962.  Attendance at Sellout #1 was 36,501.  Sellout #398 (Colorado) had 86,905 fans.  That's a lot of tickets to sell, especially when the majority of opponents don't bring the name recognition, rivalry, and revenge factor of the Deion Sanders Buffaloes. 

 *** 

 There were three moments in the last few years where the Streak could have ended:   

 2020:  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cardboard cutouts greatly outnumbered the humans in the stands.  Nebraska said those games would not be applicable to the Streak (you can't have a sellout if tickets aren't sold).  Technically, it was accurate, but it was a golden opportunity to gracefully end the Streak.  Bill Moos chose not to take advantage of a faceless scapegoat, and the Streak lived on. 

 2021:  The start of the Red Carpet Experience*, where people could buy up unused tickets - often at a discount - and donate them to young fans who may not otherwise get to attend a game.  This is the point where Nebraska decided it was better to publicly acknowledge an asterisk than to let the Streak end. 

 *Once again, I'll get ahead of your hate mail by restating for the record (as I've said here and here) that the Red Carpet Experience is a great program that allows the next generation of Husker fans to see NU in person. 

 2022:  If the Sellout Streak was ever going to end, the 2022 season was the time.  There was record low demand for tickets.  The NU Ticket Office ran numerous promotions, packages, and mini plans to entice people to buy tickets.  Any chance of momentum or hope for the season was (onside) kicked away in Ireland, defeated by Georgia Southern, and/or blown out by Oklahoma.  The only reason the Streak survived was a donor buying $21,000 worth of tickets at a bulk rate of $10 each. 

 Trev Alberts could have allowed the Streak to end.  He could have deflected most of the blame to the head coach he fired.  He could have spoken glowingly - and honestly - about how the passion that Nebraskans have for the program is bigger than some number.    

 It's hard to believe today (when Alberts is almost universally despised by Nebraska fans), but I believe the Trev of 2022 could have spun the end of the Streak as a positive step in Nebraska's rebuilding process… or at a minimum, something that would ultimately be okay.  We would have rightfully mourned the end of the Streak, but we would have moved forward. 

 *** 

Sep 30, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; A Nebraska Cornhuskers fan before the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

 How long can the Streak realistically go? 

 A year ago - when Trev Alberts announced his ambitious plans for Memorial Stadium renovations, it was very easy to see a path to the Streak hitting 450 or beyond: 

 South stadium goes away, temporarily dropping capacity by 20,000 for two or three seasons.  By the time the rebuilt South opened, Matt Rhule would have built the team into a consistent winner.  With a lower supply (70-75,000 seats) and higher demand, the Streak for could survive for years to come. 

 But with no changes coming to South Stadium any time soon, selling 85,000 tickets every week goes back to that original Econ 101 challenge:  How can NU get the demand (either from on-field success or cutting ticket prices) to be greater than the massive supply?   

 Even with an exciting freshman quarterback, a Top 10 defense, and more optimism than we've seen in almost a decade, getting the last few tickets sold in 2024 has been an on-going challenge. 

 Tickets for the season opener against UTEP could be had for $24 each if you had a kid enrolled in the free Huskers Kids Club.  Other discount deals - including a widely advertised "three game mini plan" - were promoted into September.  I feel confident that the rest of the 2024 season will be sold out (even though, as of this writing, tickets remain for the UCLA and Wisconsin games).   

 *** 

 Moving forward, I see a bigger question beyond the supply and demand proposition:  When does the Athletic Director and/or NU brass stop green lighting the various efforts to keep the Streak alive?   

 I've long said that nobody wants to be the AD when the Streak ends.  But at some point, do we get to a place where other things - such as paying players - take priority over discounting tickets to prop up a streak?  Nebraska's current AD, Troy Dannen, strikes me as somebody who will pick winning over the Streak. 

 Ultimately I think the question of the Sellout Streak's future will come back to something Dannen said in his introductory press conference:  "Does it help us win?"  If he - and Matt Rhule - believe a true sellout helps NU win, then the Streak will continue, even if it means a hit to revenue.   

But if Dannen is serious about "monetizing" Memorial stadium to help defray the future costs of paying players, can he afford to take a revenue loss (and possibly alienate donors and season ticket holders by devaluing their tickets) just to prop up the Streak?   

If the answer is no… well, we made it past 400, which is one hell of an achievement that nobody will ever surpass.  There should be no shame if and when the Streak ends. 

 *** 

Sep 17, 2022; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers fans hold up a sign before the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Memorial Stadium. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

 As for me, I'm okay with the Streak continuing for years and decades to come.  But I'd prefer to do it the right way.  I want integrity, not asterisks and backroom discounts.  Selfishly, if ticket prices have to be slashed to get them all sold, I'd like for me and fellow season ticket holders to get some of those discounts too. 

I think we all agree that the easiest way to keep the Streak going legitimately is putting a competitive and entertaining team on the field.  The excitement that comes from fielding a winning team will always help drive ticket sales.  I love that Nebraska is finally moving in that direction again. 

I still think the stadium is too big, by several thousand seats.  The current stadium experience is not likely to draw the "I prefer to watch at home" fans back consistently - and selling $9 beers won't change that.   

At some point, Nebraska will have to make some hard decisions on Memorial Stadium's short- and long-term futures, both of which will definitely impact the Streak.  But that's a different conversation for a different day. 

For now, let's use the 400th consecutive sellout as an opportunity to pat ourselves on the back and give each other a round of well-earned applause. 

We’ve earned it. 

Soak in the accomplishment, confident in the knowledge that no other fan base can match our passion, dedication, and loyalty through good times and bad. 

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