StubHub FanStats(SM) - 2008 Top 25 College Football Rivalry Rankings
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Last week's first full slate of rivalry games left a lot to be desired for college football fan around the country. Each game in StubHub's Top 25 College Football Rivalry Rankings turned out to be one-sided, most notably the Ohio State-Michigan and BYU-Utah matchups. That will undoubtedly change this week as ten of StubHub's top 25 selling rivalry games take place starting on Thanksgiving Day with a Lone Star Showdown between #2 Texas and Texas A&M in Austin. Backyard Brawls, Border Showdowns, Civil Wars and Bedlam will ensue following that, but according to StubHub sales, the hottest game of this rivalry week will be the "Iron Bowl" between #1 Alabama and bitter rival Auburn.
Saturday's game in Tuscaloosa is currently sitting as the second highest grossing rivalry game of the year, just behind the "Red River Rivalry" of Oklahoma and Texas earlier this year, and poised to surpass it by week's end. It's commanding an average selling price of $402 per ticket via sales through StubHub, only the second game of all the rivalries to do so, while gross sales have increased over 100% from 2007.
The national spotlight will also be focused other games ranked in StubHub's poll. Logging in at number 17, Oregon State hosts Oregon on Saturday in the annual Civil War but with much greater stakes than usual, as the Beavers will play for their first Rose Bowl appearance in over 40 years as well as a first-ever outright Pac-10 title. The game is the highest grossing Oregon State football game ever sold on StubHub, with tickets selling at an average of $171 per ticket.
There will be the traditional "Bedlam" when Oklahoma State and Oklahoma meet on Saturday for much more than state bragging rights. The Sooners are coming off a throttling of previously second ranked Texas Tech and will look to keep their national title game and Big 12 Championship hopes alive in Stillwater. The game stands at number 19 in the StubHub poll based on gross sales but is commanding the highest selling price ever for this rivalry at $339 per ticket, over $150 more than 2007 for the game in Norman.
Discounts also highlight the Top 25 rivalries for this week with Notre Dame-USC tickets selling for $200 less than 2007. Kansas-Missouri, Florida-Florida State and Virginia-Virginia Tech have also seen nearly $100 discounts from their 2007 selling prices despite considerable interest for each game.
STUBHUB TOP 25 RIVALRY RANKINGS (11/25/08)
Current 2007 Prev. Week
Rivalry Game Date
Avg. Avg. Ranking
1 Oklahoma vs. Texas 11-Oct $ 345 $ 400 1
2 Auburn at Alabama 29-Nov $ 402 $ 337 3
3 Florida vs. Georgia 1-Nov $ 349 $ 263 2
4 Michigan at Ohio State 22-Nov $ 404 $ 374 4
5 Notre Dame at USC 29-Nov $ 207 $ 407 5
6 Texas A&M at Texas 27-Nov $ 191 $ 244 6
7 Michigan State at Michigan 25-Oct $ 175 $ 200 7
8 Kansas vs. Missouri 29-Nov $ 108 $ 227 10
9 USC at UCLA 6-Dec $ 175 $ 246 11
10 Alabama at Tennessee 25-Oct $ 186 $ 238 8
11 Florida at Tennessee 20-Sep $ 207 $ 248 9
12 Florida at Florida State 29-Nov $ 146 $ 305 15
13 Purdue at Notre Dame 27-Sep $ 178 $ 105 12
14 Army/Navy Game 6-Dec $ 191 $ 231 14
15 Georgia at Auburn 15-Nov $ 180 $ 263 13
16 Georgia Tech at Georgia 29-Nov $ 179 $ 163 17
17 Oregon at Oregon State 29-Nov $ 171 $ 176 18
18 Florida State at Miami 4-Oct $ 122 $ 114 16
19 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State 29-Nov $ 339 $ 169 19
20 Stanford at California 22-Nov $ 88 $ 99 22
21 West Virginia at Pittsburgh 28-Nov $ 95 $ 138 23
22 BYU at Utah 22-Nov $ 198 $105 21
23 Iowa State at Iowa 13-Sep $ 170 $ 122 20
24 Virginia at Virginia Tech 29-Nov $ 134 $ 230 24
25 N. Carolina State at N. Carolina 22-Nov $ 94 $ 149 25
Best of the Rest: South Carolina at Clemson, LSU at Arkansas, Indiana at Purdue
The StubHub Top 25 Rivalry Rankings display the traditional college rivalry game tickets that are in highest demand by gross dollar volume of tickets sold through the StubHub ticket marketplace. A new Top 25 list is released weekly during rivalry season until the conclusion of the regular season as sales fluctuate due to pre-game hype and team performance. An important component of the rankings, average ticket price, can also reflect the difference in year over year demand for each game.
Rankings can change weekly based on the buying activity on StubHub.com due to the importance of each game and the overall performance of one or both teams. Once a game has been played it still may rank on the list based on the total sales activity for that game. For example, Oklahoma vs. Texas has outsold all other games this season and therefore still ranks number one many weeks after it has been played.
About StubHub FanStats(SM)
StubHub FanStats present timely statistics, rankings and/or data about sports and entertainment that is of interest to the everyday fan. Information reflects ticket resale market data gathered from StubHub transactions. If there is specific data that is of interest to you, or if you would like to interview the leading authority in the secondary ticketing industry, please send us an e-mail at fanstats@stubhub.com.
About StubHub
StubHub is the world's largest ticket marketplace, enabling fans to buy and sell tickets to tens of thousands of sports, concert, theater and other live entertainment events. StubHub reinvented the ticket resale market in 2000 and continues to lead it through innovation. The company's unique online marketplace, dedicated solely to tickets, provides all fans the choice to buy or sell their tickets in a safe, convenient, and highly reliable environment. All transactions are processed and delivered by StubHub and backed by the company's FanProtect Guarantee(TM). Company partners include the New York Yankees, Chicago Bears and the University of Southern California along with nearly 60 teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NCAA complemented with music artists like Madonna and companies such as ESPN and American Express.
StubHub is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY). For more information on StubHub, visit www.stubhub.com
Source: StubHub
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