High Prices for High-Drama College Football Conference Championships
It’s conference championship week in college football, and in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff format that means big storylines—and big action in the ticket marketplace. The past year saw a massive wave of conference realignment, sending familiar faces to new places, reigniting old rivalries, and creating new ones.
Fans feared the shuffling of college football’s landscape would result in two superconferences and a postseason featuring the usual perennial heavyweights. But 2024 has been all about upsets and parity. And at least three of this weekend’s conference championship games have major implications for the Playoff seeding.
According to data from TickPick, a leading North American ticket marketplace, the new-look conferences—and title game matchups—are having a direct effect on demand. This week, Front Office Sports takes you through a red-hot Georgia-Texas rematch, how Big Ten and ACC tickets were impacted by last-minute finalists, and the Group of 5 games generating higher prices than the Power 4.
The Newest Pricey SEC Rivalry
Texas made headlines when it moved from the Big 12 to the SEC for the 2024 season, but the No. 3 Longhorns have held their own—and then some. Georgia, which won two of the last three national championships, has come back to Earth this season and enters the SEC title game at No. 7. But when they met in Austin in October, the Bulldogs won 30–15.
The SEC title game may have a different look and feel this year: The Crimson Tide, who appeared in seven of the last 10 SEC championships, are absent while the burnt orange will be in full effect at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But the stakes could not be higher for this rematch.
According to TickPick, the $700 average purchase price makes Texas-Georgia the most expensive conference championship game of the season and the third-most-expensive SEC championship game on record.
Meanwhile, the current get-in price of $252 is a whopping 1,580% more expensive than the current get-in price of the Big Ten championship ($15).
The Newest Pricey SEC Rivalry
Ohio State played in five of the Big Ten championship games dating back to 2014, winning all of them. Heading into last week’s home rivalry game with Michigan as the No. 2 team in the country and a significant favorite, the Buckeyes seemed like a shoo-in for the 2024 edition.
The Wolverines had other plans, beating Ohio State in Columbus and sending Penn State to the title game against conference newcomer Oregon—and that had a noticeable effect on ticket demand.
The average purchase price for the Big Ten championship decreased by 34% (from $221 to $145) following the Ohio State–Michigan game, while the get-in price dropped 86% (from $110 to $15). But, according to TickPick, Oregon–Penn State now ranks as the second-most-expensive Big Ten championship game on record with an overall average purchase price of $187.
Similarly, over in the ACC, after new conference member SMU punched its ticket to the title game, a Syracuse upset of Miami sent Clemson to the championship instead of the Hurricanes—and the prices dropped.
According to TickPick, the overall average purchase price of ACC championship tickets declined 20% (from $167 to $134) after Clemson unexpectedly reached the game. The get-in price saw a slight 10% uptick after Miami’s loss (from $57 to $63).
The Get In
Here’s what it takes to get in the gate at the most and least expensive college football conference championship games.
The Power of the Group of 5
A slew of Group of 5 championships are also taking place this week, and there's big demand to get in the door for many of these matchups.
