Dave Feit’s Rejected Husker Football Ticket Promotions

Minnesota is giving away free tickets with frozen pizza. With a sellout streak on the line at Nebraska, desperate times call for desperate ideas.

Last year's game against Michigan State was part of a Memorial Stadium sellout streak that began in 1962. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

All across the country, college football teams are doing whatever they can to sell tickets to their games. Minnesota announced a promotion where fans can "win" two free tickets with the purchase of three Red Baron frozen pizzas.*

*Based on the last time I had Red Baron, I'd rather eat two Minnesota football tickets. But I digress….

Thanks to our friends Red Baron, a limited supply of tickets can now be redeemed for the Gopher Football games vs Eastern Illinois on 9/3, Akron on 9/19, and Northwestern on 11/21.

When you buy 3 Red Baron® pizzas you win 2 free tickets to the game, while supplies last!

🍕🎟️:… pic.twitter.com/F5SdjSU8pD

— Minnesota Golden Gophers (@GopherSports) August 20, 2026

Akron is running a viral promotion where one season ticket holder will get to script plays for the opening series against Robert Morris of the FCS.*

*Two reactions:

1.  If you're a Robert Morris player or coach, how disrespected do you feel about this?
2. One of the games available in the Minnesota / Red Baron promo is their September 19 game against… Akron. Seriously, how relieved is the Nebraska Ticket Office that Akron is not on the schedule this year?

Speaking of Nebraska, the fine folks in the ticket office are coming out with a new promotional offer every six hours. Mini plans! Postgame concerts! Concession vouchers! Buy one, get one deals! What was once the easiest job in all of sales is now a high-pressure, backs-against-the-wall gig with the fate of a 64-year-old consecutive sellout streak hanging in the balance.

My sources tell me Nebraska considered a "call the first drive" contest but scrapped the idea because their research showed that every Husker fan would pick the same four plays: Option left, fullback dive, option right, kick the PAT.

But that is just one of many promotions and incentives that have been discussed by NU brass. One of my top-secret insider sources shared a list of ideas Nebraska was considering to sell football tickets, but ultimately rejected:

• If you buy three tickets, they'll beg you to buy 17 more!
• Every football ticket purchased comes with an extra entry into the Nebraska volleyball single match ticket lottery.
• If you buy season tickets in rows 80-99 of south stadium, you'll be entered to win the chance to push the plunger on demolition day.
• A "Personal Space" promotion where your ticket purchase includes either one seat to your side or directly in front of you. Legroom! 
• Every ticket purchased comes with a voucher for a free beer. Pro tip: be sure to get in the beer line at least an hour before kickoff.
• Six different season ticket holders will be chosen to guest host an episode of the "House Rhules" podcast. The guest host with the most views will appear on Pat McAfee's show.
• Fans will receive a free, generic red practice jersey. Wait… I'm being told those are the new home uniforms, even though there is nothing on them to indicate they belong to Nebraska.
• Every ticket sold for the Bowling Green game comes with one free game at the Husker Bowling Center on East Campus (shoe rental not included).
• Ticket holders for all games can choose seats in designated pro- or anti-Rhule sections.
• Ticket holders for the Ohio game can choose seats in designated "Frank Solich should have been retained or fired" sections.
• Cole Swindell will sing one song of your choosing during his concert. I'd pick something completely random and hilarious to a specific subset of my friends, such as the jingle from the "USA Baby" commercials of the 1980s.
• If you buy 1,000 tickets for the Ohio game, your band can play a postgame concert, or your kid can hold a piano recital. We don't care! Just buy tickets!
• The fan (or booster) who buys the final ticket for each game gets to change the Consecutive Sellouts sign in east stadium.
• Group ticket packages of 40-50 tickets come with free transportation in the Husker team bus. The third and fourth string guys can just walk from the team hotel.
• Ticket holders are entered into a raffle for surplus athletic department items. Old shoes, Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl merch, and a heavily used Golden Tee machine.
• A drawing to win VIP access to the Jon Rothstein Nebrasketball happy hour.
• If the game ends in a blowout, congrats! Your ticket stub can be redeemed for a discounted blowout at Drybar. (Not valid for blowout losses).
• If you buy the most tickets for the Washington game, Nebraska will spell out your name in drones before the start of the fourth quarter.
• If you buy the most tickets for the Maryland game, you get to pick when the game kicks off. Night game? Great! 11 am? I guess. 3:17 am? Hey, it's your money.
• All fans who buy tickets will receive a commemorative “I prolonged the Nebraska Sellout Streak and all I got was this lousy T-shirt” shirt.

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