Griz surpass 18,000 football season tickets sold
7/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 29, 2011
For the fourth consecutive year, The University of Montana has topped the 18,000 mark in football season ticket sales.
As of Friday, July 29, 18,688 season tickets have been sold, a record for Washington-Grizzly Stadium, with many new fans joining the list of season ticket holders this season.
The previous high was 18,662 in 2009.
Single-game tickets go on sale Monday, Aug. 1, but there are still a few season ticket opportunities available, mostly in Grizzly Scholarship Association seating sections.
There are also a few individual season tickets scattered across the stadium. All other pairs have been purchased.
Fans looking for particular seats or seating locations in the stadium and those who are looking for non-specific seats may still have an opportunity to purchase season tickets by calling the Montana ticket office at 406-243-4051 or 888-MONTANA.
"During these tough economic times and after missing the playoffs last year, some fans thought the numbers might be down, but that's not been the case," said UM Director of Athletics Jim O'Day.
"In fact, it's been just the opposite. Grizzly home football games are the No. 1 one-day sporting event in Montana, with crowds again guaranteed to number more than 25,000 each home Saturday this fall in Missoula.
"We continue to be amazed and thankful for the continued support shown us by Griz Nation.
"This should be an exciting year for Grizzly Football, with a number of key starters returning on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
"This is expected to be perhaps the most competitive league race ever, with all nine teams in the conference being contenders for the Big Sky title."
Among the early favorites is Eastern Washington, the defending NCAA Football Championship Subdivision national champion. The Eagles face the Grizzlies in Missoula on Saturday, Sept. 17, in the Big Sky opener for both teams.
When individual game tickets go on sale Monday, there will be a limited number available for the following games: Eastern Washington (Sept. 17), Portland State (Oct. 15), Weber State (Oct. 29) and Western Oregon (Nov. 5).
The games against Cal Poly (Sept. 10) and Northern Colorado (Homecoming, Oct. 1) are sold out.
If tickets become available from the block of 4,000 allotted to UM students each home game, they will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis the Thursday morning prior to each game.
Tickets for all of Montana's road games - excluding the game at Montana State on Nov. 19 - are currently on sale.
