With about 300 left, Ole Miss student season tickets have yet to sell out as the football team approaches its second game of the season against UT Martin, according to Matt Cook, associate director of ticket operations. Cook said he believes this is due to the lack of big rivalry home games scheduled for this season.
“We don’t have Alabama, Auburn or Mississippi State,” he said.
Ole Miss students, however, have different ideas of why there is such a delay in student tickets selling out.
Students Mary Catherine Russell and Savannah Irwin said they believe it’s more than just that and is possibly due to the NCAA allegations and former head coach Hugh Freeze’s resignation.
“We can’t look forward to winning,” Russell said. “And there is no postseason, no bowl game, and Hugh Freeze was calling escorts.”
“It’s the end of the Freeze era,” Irwin said.
Even with all the obstacles facing the team, students still find reasons to attend Ole Miss football games.
“I’m still going to support the Rebels because it doesn’t matter how bad things get,” Russell said.
Ole Miss Athletics has offered free football tickets to university faculty and staff for this weekend’s game against UT Martin.
According to Cook, free tickets are given out every year to faculty and staff as a way to thank them for all of their hard work.
“We like to show appreciation to our Ole Miss faculty for all they do,” Cook said. “It’s nothing new.”
“I got a free ticket, but I was still going to find a way to get a ticket regardless,” Tyler Burch, an intern for Reformed University Fellowship of Ole Miss, said. “It’s early in the season and a lot of season left. I just want to watch football and see Ole Miss play.”
Ole Miss is approaching selling out for this weekend’s UT Martin game with about 100 regular game tickets left.