Many Tennessee fans took to social media to declare that they wouldn’t be attending the Music City Bowl after the Vols (8-4) blew an opportunity to go to the Sugar Bowl with a loss at Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale.
Plenty of other UT fans aren’t taking that approach, however.
Tennessee sold out its allotment within a couple of weeks after the announced pairing against Nebraska (9-3), and Scott Ramsey of the Music City Bowl recently confirmed that there are less than 500 available total tickets remaining for the game.
That interest has made this a tougher ticket than some expected. According to the website Ticket IQ, the Music City Bowl is the fourth-most expensive selling ticket ($178 average) this college football postseason among non-playoff matchups. Only the Sugar, Orange and Rose Bowls – all New Year’s Six bowls – currently have tickets being offered for a higher average price.
UT’s proximity to Nashville, and the large fanbase located in the state’s capital city, are certainly contributing factors to the high average price for tickets. But the $178 per ticket average is not only a substantial step up from the past several Music City Bowl matchups, it’s also $53 per ticket more than Tennessee’s last visit to the Music City Bowl in 2010 for a matchup against North Carolina.
While nobody is denying that the Music City Bowl is a disappointing destination for a team that had hopes of an SEC Championship, the ticket prices haven’t necessarily reflected it.
