It appears gloomy forecasts about Gophers hockey and basketball season ticket renewals will not be correct. Next fall will be the first where most season ticket holders are paying a donation fee in addition to the regular cost of tickets, but renewals in hockey are impressive this spring and basketball looks promising too.
The hockey season ticket drive (now over) resulted in an 89 percent renewal, only one percent less than last year. The inventory for seats requiring a $300 donation sold out while 95 percent of the $200 category was purchased. Six hundred seats in the $100 donation category weren’t purchased and 150 remained in the non-donation group.
At the one-third renewal phase for basketball, the top donation category — $400 per ticket — was the most popular. The season ticket renewal for basketball was thought to be a major challenge for Gophers marketers since coach Tubby Smith’s team finished at 6-12 in the Big Ten and his five-year conference record is 38-52, but Minnesota rallied late in the postseason to play for the NIT title and has a promising group of players returning this fall. The Gophers hockey team is coming off a season when Minnesota lost to Boston College in the semifinals of the Frozen Four.
The Gophers football season ticket renewal campaign is also complete, ending with 89 percent renewal. The athletic department is working with the Atlanta-based Aspire Group to sell football tickets this summer with 12-full time sales reps expected to begin work on June 11.
Nearly all 25 sports programs at Minnesota compiled cumulative GPA’s of 3.0 or better by their athletes during spring semester. Solid academic performances in football and basketball include the news that no high profile players are expected to have eligibility issues.