Coach Sanders sends CU football ticket sales soaring

Call it the Prime effect.

Driving the news: Despite coming off a 1-11 season, ticket sales are skyrocketing for the upcoming University of Colorado Buffaloes' football season.

Zoom in: Based on cumulative ticket sales between last season and ahead of this season, CU is the top trending team in college football with a 1,668% increase in ticket sales, according to StubHub data.

• The uptick comes after Deion Sanders — who also goes by Coach Prime — was named head coach in December.
• The Pro Football Hall of Famer has two Super Bowl wins to his name and was named Southwestern Athletic Conference coach of the year two years in a row while at Jackson State.

Why it matters: Sanders' hiring has generated enthusiasm from fans, who helped the school sell out season tickets this year for just the ninth time in its history.

• CU merchandise sales is up by 100% in late July compared to the same period in 2022, per the Denver Post.

State of play: Live events are in demand, and college football is no different. StubHub's ticket sales nationally are up over 50% compared to the previous season for college football — the highest preseason sales of the past five years.

What they're saying: "This is likely to be the last season of college football as we know it, with conferences realigning at a rapid pace and playoff expansion on the horizon," StubHub ticket expert Adam Budelli told Axios.

Zoom out: College football powerhouses including Alabama, Michigan and Notre Dame are the top in-demand teams based on overall ticket sales, with Alabama hosting three of the top 10 highest-selling games this season and Michigan having the largest stadium in college football.

• "The SEC continues to dominate as a conference, outselling the Big 10 teams by 45%," Budelli said.