Prime Effect Drives Ticket Demand For Colorado’s Home Opener

The Coach Prime effect is triggering surging ticket demand for the University of Colorado-Boulder’s football program, as the cheapest ticket prices for its regular season home opener currently sit around $400.

Tickets for Colorado’s Sept. 9 home-opener against Nebraska at Folsom Field are available for as low as $460, with club seats as high as $924 on CU’s website. Other available sections are priced at $555, $625, and $715. The cheapest current price on StubHub for the game is $403.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is entering his first season as Colorado’s head coach after he coached Jackson State’s football team for the past three seasons. He has brought top recruits to Boulder, including his son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, a two-way wide receiver and cornerback. 

Colorado football sold out its season ticket inventory in April for the first time in 27 years as Deion’s arrival cultivated a “reality TV show” atmosphere around the program, Colorado’s director of NIL Sadie Baker told Front Office Sports. The school’s spring game in April was a sellout, with over 45,000 in attendance at Folsom Field, compared to roughly 2,000 fans that attended last year’s Colorado spring exhibition. 

Colorado’s jump into primetime demand under coach Sanders comes after the team went 1-11 last season to finish last in the Pac-12. Now, Colorado is reportedly planning to commit to joining the Big-12 “soon,” according to The Oklahoman, in a move that would cast further doubt on the Pac-12 financial future as the conference struggles to find an attractive media rights partner with ESPN not interested in renewing its deal. USC and UCLA will leave the Pac-12 in 2024 to join the Big Ten.