BOULDER, Colo. — The Colorado Buffaloes have the hottest ticket in college football, and everyone is trying to get inside for this weekend's game in Boulder.
Thousands of students lined up Wednesday morning outside of the football ticket office on the University of Colorado campus, hoping to purchase a ticket to Saturday's game against Colorado State University.
Head coach Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders and the 18th-ranked Buffs host the CSU Rams at 8 p.m. Saturday at Folsom Field in the first Rocky Mountain Showdown game since 2019.
Some students even lined up late Tuesday with the goal of getting one of the limited number of single student tickets that were returned from CSU's ticket allotment. The CU ticket office said the extra single tickets were sold out by 11 a.m. Wednesday.
CU students line up to get football tickets
This ticket sale was separate from the CU student Sports Pass, which sold out earlier this summer.
Many students struggled to get tickets to last weekend's football game against Nebraska, as CU sold 12,000 Sport Passes for this season, even though there are only 11,000 seats for students inside Folsom Field. Students with a Sports Pass now have to enter an online queue every Sunday to secure their tickets for the next week’s game.
Steve Hurlbert, chief communications officer for CU, said the 11,000 seats for students inside Folsom Field represent about a third of the student body. He said the university actually expanded student seating into another section, anticipating demand this season.
“We’re looking at just absolutely unprecedented demand. CU football, we’re talking Taylor Swift now,” he said.
Hurlbert said while student energy is important, the university also has to balance the needs of season ticket holders, alumni, donors and other fans who have been waiting for a team like this. He said the university continues to evaluate the student seating inside the stadium.
“I know there’s frustration with students and maybe some fans, but at the end of the day this is such a wonderful time to be a Buff and such a special time to be around the University of Colorado. We should savor it,” he said.
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