Selling tickets is a challenge in today's climate, and especially so when you're talking about a game like [picks a game at random] Bethune-Cookman at Memphis. Even with a 6 p.m. start time, you're asking fans to spend their hard-earned money to come out on what's sure to be a hot day in the Bluff City to watch their Tigers, coming off an underwhelming season, take on an FCS opponent.
Even if you're a Memphis fan inclined to spend your Saturday afternoons in the Liberty Bowl, that might be one you'd skip, saving your money until the weather and the schedule becomes more inviting.
The Memphis athletics department knows this, and so they've come up with what I think is an ingenious way to sell tickets. They're essentially making a bet on their own team with their fan base.
In launching the "Win Together" campaign, fans can purchase a $60 ticket to the Bethune-Cookman game, but here's the catch: if the Tigers beat the Wildcats, tickets to the next home game -- Sept. 14 vs. Navy -- are free. And if the Tigers beat Navy, tickets to the Sept. 30 home game against Boise State are free. And if Memphis wins that, tickets to the Oct. 13 date with defending AAC champion Tulane are free. And so on.
"This is another great example of a fun way where people can invest in Memphis Football this season," Memphis AD Laird Veatch said. "We are gearing up for an exciting year, and we are happy to give fans the opportunity to win right alongside the Tigers in this way."
To be clear: there's a lot of risk here for the Memphis athletics department.
In the event Memphis goes into its home finale Nov. 18 against SMU undefeated at the Liberty Bowl, it'll have have gone the entire season charging a subset of ticket holders $60 to see the entire home schedule. The cheapest individual ticket on the Tigers' official website goes for $20, which means Memphis has then foregone $60 in revenue from each Win Together ticket-holder.
This, of course, is the level of risk Memphis can live with, and even invites. The team is enjoying a strong season if the above scenario comes to pass, so the athletics department is fine with "losing" $60 from its true-believer fans in that case.
But imagine if Memphis comes out and loses the opener to Bethune-Cookman. Hooo boy.
Not only have you lost your opener to an FCS team, you've just charged your die-hard fans $60 to watch you lose your opener to an FCS team. In theory, those people now have to pay full price to watch you play Navy, and Boise State, and Tulane, and so forth. In reality, those people aren't coming back at all.
Every Memphis fan will be rooting on their Tigers in that B-C game. But AD Laird Veatch is going to be really rooting for the team.