Under the Dome
Charting The Irish
Prior to bowl season, either Notre Dame or Alabama played in all five of
the most-watched games of the 2012 season. Irish wins over Oklahoma and
USC, and Alabama games against LSU, Texas A&M and Georgia comprised
the top-rated television games this season. ESPN, which televised the BCS
National Championship, predicted it would be the highest-rated football
game in cable television history.
America loves to watch Notre Dame play football, and to see the Irish in
person isn't cheap. Three of their games this season were among the top‑10
most expensive average ticket prices of the year (Michigan, Miami and Oklahoma), according to ticket broker TiqIQ.com. Alabama was the only other
school to make the list three times (LSU, Michigan and Auburn). It's no surprise that when they met in the national title game, it raised the bar on prices.
Year MatchupAverage Ticket Price
2013 Notre Dame-Alabama
2012 Alabama-LSU
2011 Auburn-Oregon
* Data provided by Stubhub.com
$1,780
$1,185
$1,158
The effects on ticket prices happened overnight when Notre Dame moved
into the No. 1 slot Nov. 18 after beating Wake Forest. Prices skyrocketed that
week before eventually dropping back toward the mean in the month and
a half before the game.
$2,500
Ticket Price
$2,201
$2,106
$2,127
$2,000
$1,829
$1,790
$1,754
$1,500
Nov. 15 Nov. 16
Nov. 17 Nov. 18 Nov. 19
Date (in November)
Nov. 20
* Data from TiqIQ.com