• Loading stock data...
Saturday, April 26, 2025

College Football Playoff on Campuses Sends Ticket, Travel Prices Soaring

The College Football Playoff’s new format features four games held on college campuses rather than independent bowl sites.

Notre Dame
Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

The new College Football Playoff is set, and with it, what would have previously been an oddity: meaningful postseason games on college campuses.

In the inaugural format, the top four teams will get a bye week and advance straight to the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, and Peach bowls. The remaining eight teams battle it out in the first round on Dec. 20 and Dec. 21 at the home stadium of the higher seed.

Here are the matchups:

  • No. 7 Notre Dame hosts No. 10 Indiana, Friday, Dec. 20, 8 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN
  • No. 6 Penn State hosts No. 11 SMU, Saturday, Dec. 21, 12 p.m. ET on TNT/Max
  • No. 5 Texas hosts No. 12 Clemson, Saturday, Dec. 21, 4 p.m. ET on TNT/Max
  • No. 8 Ohio State hosts No. 9 Tennessee, Saturday, Dec. 21, 8 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN

The CFP did plan for some of the uncertainty: In the fall of 2022, the CFP contacted hotels in all 134 FBS college towns with a request for proposal and signed about 90 deals, according to The Athletic. The majority of those were canceled in November.

The CFP also tried to control ticket prices, placing general seating (not clubs or suites) between $100 and $250, The Athletic reported. The CFP keeps all ticket revenue and dishes it out to conferences, but each home team can choose how to sell tickets. Notre Dame–Indiana has already sold out of tickets listed on the team website. (Texas isn’t doing a general public sale, and Ohio State’s opens Thursday.) Resale markets have, unsurprisingly, run away with the costs.

On StubHub on Tuesday, the get-in price including estimated fees for each game sat at:

  • $911 for Notre Dame–Indiana
  • $142 for Penn State–SMU
  • $314 for Texas-Clemson
  • $336 for Ohio State–Tennessee

The four host schools are college football juggernauts, and they are likely more equipped to handle an extra football game on short notice than some of their opponents. But travel costs have still exploded as the host towns look to capitalize on the novelty of the first CFP.

As of Tuesday, State College hotels that usually cost about $100 per night jumped to roughly $1,200 to $1,500 per night during the CFP, or sold out of rooms completely. Airbnbs in the town have jumped from a couple of hundred dollars per night to roughly between $1,000 and $2,500.

State College is a small market, far from major airports, and boasts the largest stadium of the four schools. On top of that, it’s also fall graduation weekend for the university, meaning hotels already had increased demand.

“Between the Playoff and graduation, we knew that the inventory was going to go rather quickly, and we noticed that trend a few months ago as things started getting booked up based off of the rumor mill,” Kelsey Butler-Reed, a member of the sales team at the Courtyard by Marriott in State College, tells Front Office Sports. “Now that it’s official, it’s completely sold out as soon as the announcement was made.”

Many of South Bend’s hotels sold out of their inventory, and several Airbnbs are higher than $3,500 per night. South Bend, Ind., and State College, Pa., are the two smallest cities—at roughly 100,000 residents—hosting games and therefore more vulnerable to price-gouging. Columbus has nearly a million residents, but still, a number of hotels near OSU have shot up to more than $400 for Saturday night. Travel prices in Austin—one of the largest markets in the country—appear to be largely unchanged.

South Bend, State College, Austin, and Columbus are the first and only college towns chosen to host one of these non-bowl postseason games in the modern era, and the unanticipated matchup is a gift for some.

“It’s given a little bit of extra boost in winter months,” Mike Patel, who owns a Holiday Inn Express about 25 miles from Penn State, tells FOS. “We really slow down in winter months. So this gives extra help to pay the bills and take care of other stuff for the property.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

NFL Draft Round 1 Draws 13.6M Viewers, Second-Highest Ever

With stars staying on the board, viewers tuned in.

Five QBs Drafted As Shedeur Sanders Slips to Fourth Round

Shedeur Sanders is still waiting after slipping out of the first round.

Ohio State’s $20M Roster Sends 7 Players to NFL in First Two..

The NIL-fueled title team had more draftees than all of the Big 12.

Trump Defends Sanders After Snub: ‘What Is Wrong With NFL Owners?’

He said Shedeur Sanders has “phenomenal genes” and asked if owners are “stupid.”

Featured Today

The Former NBA Agent Who Became a Pickleball Deputy Commissioner

Chris Patrick went from representing Jimmy Butler to pickleball deputy commissioner.
Apr 5, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) reacts after a three point basket against the Houston Cougars during the first half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome.
April 21, 2025

Cooper Flagg’s Timing Is Perfect for the NBA and USA Basketball

The projected No. 1 pick just declared for the draft.
Apr 14, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Paige Bueckers is interviewed by ESPN after being selected with the number one overall pick to the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA Draft at The Shed at Hudson Yards
April 21, 2025

ESPN’s WNBA Coverage Mirrors the League’s Stunning Growth

“I don’t think we stand still in our coverage of women’s sports,” says Rowe.
Mar 16, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrates with guard Isaiah Joe (11) after score in the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.
April 20, 2025

Unorthodox OKC: The Thunder Redefined Tanking to Become NBA’s Best

A rebuild years in the making has OKC in the driver’s seat.
Mar 28, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Lamont Butler (1) dribbles the ball against the Tennessee Volunteers in the first half during a Midwest Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium.

College Sports Has Become a Billion-Dollar Business. Kentucky Is Embracing It

Kentucky said its LLC would operate similarly to two hospitals run by the university.
Jan 21, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; College Football Playoff executive director Rich Clark speaks during the CFP National Championship Host Committee handoff press conference at The Westin Peachtree Plaza, Savannah Ballroom.
April 24, 2025

CFP Meetings End With No Major Changes to 12-Team Playoff—for Now

For now, the complicated seeding process will remain in place.
Ole Miss
April 24, 2025

Coach Yo: Women’s College Hoops Are ‘Pay for Play’

Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin built a top transfer class this offseason.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

This week, Two-time Super Bowl Champion and CBS NFL analyst Logan Ryan joins us to talk the business of sports on our third installment of Portfolio Players.
April 24, 2025

The House Settlement Is in Jeopardy. Here’s What It Will Take to..

The parties will try to salvage the settlement over the next two weeks.
NC State women's cross country
April 23, 2025

Judge Threatens to Reject $2.8 Billion House v. NCAA Settlement

The NCAA and power conferences could end up at trial.
Dec 27, 2024; Memphis, TN, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks defensive back Miguel Mitchell (16) returns an interception during the forth quarter against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.
April 23, 2025

NIL Contract Buyouts Are More Common, but Can They Be Enforced?

The Arkansas collective has issued two demand letters to players to pay buyouts.
Flau'jae Johnson
exclusive
April 23, 2025

Flau’jae Johnson Says She Will Return to LSU

The transfer portal closed Wednesday.