How the Colorado Buffaloes became the hottest ticket in college football: By the numbers

The Colorado Buffaloes, behind first-year coach Deion Sanders, have been one of the stories of the season so far in college football. A wild win over TCU to open the season. A dominant win against Nebraska at home. A close double-overtime win over Colorado State featuring a star-studded crowd.

It's hard to quantify how big a turnaround Colorado's shown this season. Wins are easy: an 1-11 program in 2022 is now 3-0 and ranked 18th in country.

But a bigger way to quantify the shift in both success and appeal for the Buffaloes may come from the cost of admission. Tickets to Colorado Buffaloes games are suddenly the most expensive in college football.

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How much do Colorado football tickets cost?

Per data from ticket marketplace Vivid Seats, the average ticket price for home Colorado football games are up 285% compared to last season. In 2022, the average ticket cost $73. This season, it's up to $281.

For their showdown at home against USC Sept. 30, the lowest ticket prices currently available at Vivid Seats' re-sale market are $392 each as of Wednesday. According to Vivid Seats' numbers:

• The cheapest single ticket for that game is equal to the cheapest ticket to all six SEC games in week 6 combined.

• The cheapest ticket for Colorado vs. USC is more expensive than the cheapest ticket for every NFL game in Week 3.

• Only Sunday night's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Las Vegas Raiders comes close at $373.

With ticket prices skyrocketing in the first home game, Sanders estimates he made Boulder $18 million from that matchup alone.

Sanders' impact resembles the boost Lionel Messi had on the MLS club Inter Miami. The club's game against Los Angeles FC set an MLS record for the most expensive average ticket in league history. Tickets were up more than 500% following Messi's signing.

How popular are Colorado football games?

All three of Colorado's games have sold out in 2023, home or on the road.

Since the opening win against TCU in Fort Worth, home games against Nebraska and Colorado State have seen Folsom Field packed beyond the 50,183-seat capacity.

For the first time in program history, the Colorado Buffaloes have sold out every home game on the schedule. School officials confirmed this week that the home finale Nov. 11 against Arizona has sold out to complete the record.

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The demand for Buffaloes tickets has shown up in the resale market as well, spiking 55% since the TCU win on Sept. 9, according to data from Vivid Seats.

Colorado is racking up attention beyond seats in the stadium as well: College football pre-game shows College Gameday and Big Noon Kickoff were in Boulder ahead of week 3's game against Colorado State.

ESPN reported the 9.3 million viewers for that game made it the most-watched late-night college football game in network history. It was the fifth-most-watched regular-season game in ESPN history regardless of time slot.

Which school has the most expensive college football tickets?

Traditional football powerhouses such as Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC, Georgia, and Alabama have typically the highest cost of admission.

But none of those teams' remaining regular season games this fall, on average, match the minimum cost of admission for remaining Colorado games. The latest Vivid Seats figures on Sept. 20 show the average for the Buffaloes' games is $174, home or away. Ohio State comes the closest with an average price of $172 thanks to two major rivalry games left on the schedule.

Those rivalry games do exceed any Colorado game price. Tickets for the Buckeyes' game on the road against Notre Dame Sept. 23 start at $444. For their home game against rival Michigan on Nov. 25, tickets start at $465.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Colorado football ticket prices nearly triple with Coach Sanders' wins