Tennessee football fans were abuzz Monday when they got an email from the university saying only 4,000 tickets were allotted to UT for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
Even more surprising, UT’s email said approximately 1,500 tickets would be allocated to donors and season-ticket holders when No. 21 Tennessee (8-4) plays No. 17 Iowa (10-3) on Jan. 1 (1 p.m. ET, ABC) in Orlando, Florida.
Those limited tickets will be available according to donor rank.
The remaining 2,500 tickets will go to the UT band, cheerleaders, families of coaches and support staff, athletic department staff and players. Each UT player gets six complimentary tickets.
Sep 9, 2023; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers fans during the first half against the Austin Peay Governors at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Those are small numbers compared to the tens of thousands of tickets allotted to UT in bowls from years ago. The reason for the reduction goes back to the SEC’s shift in the bowl selection process in 2020.
And Citrus Bowl tickets are on sale through other channels.
Here’s why Tennessee ticket allotment is so small
In 2020, FBS conferences and bowls started six-year agreements aligned with the College Football Playoff contract. The SEC negotiated a reduction in each school’s ticket allotment for contracted bowls.
The Citrus Bowl allotment was dropped to 4,000 for the SEC school. The Citrus Bowl could not immediately provide the allotment for the Big Ten school when reached by Knox News on Monday.
Bowls in the secondary pool – ReliaQuest, Gator, Music City, Duke’s Mayo, Liberty, Texas – had a reduction from 8,000 tickets to 3,000 tickets for each SEC school.
It’s what SEC schools wanted, and it streamlined ticket sales for the bowls.
For decades, schools would try to land bowl bids by guaranteeing the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-tennessee-football-allotted-only-220609266.html
Author : Knox News | The Knoxville News-Sentinel
Publish date : 2023-12-04 22:06:09
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