Secondary Market Behavior during College Football's Postseason: Evidence from the 2014 Rose Bowl and BCS Championship Game

Abstract

Though there is reason to believe that college football bowl game administrators engage in inelastic ticket pricing, there is no academic literature that specifically examines this point. This seminal investigation of secondary prices in college football, which focuses on two bowl games that took place at the same stadium within a six-day span during the first week of 2014, sheds insight onto inelastic ticket pricing for college bowl games, secondary pricing comparisons across different online ticket resellers, the influence “pent-up” demand and distance traveled can have on secondary markups, and revealed consumer preferences towards seat quality and optimal “sightlines.” Though dynamically pricing bowl games could yield larger gate revenues, various logistical reasons are discussed as to why this practice is uncommon for such games.