Full Capacity Means Tailgating is Returning to Milan Puskar Stadium!
June 18, 2021 11:53 AM | Football, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Dust off those grills and get them ready for this fall when West Virginia University football, as we've known it, returns to Milan Puskar Stadium!
The tailgating, the fellowship, the ambiance and the excitement of Mountaineer football is returning to Morgantown this fall following the announcement earlier this week that Milan Puskar Stadium is returning to 100% full capacity with no restrictions on the normal Mountaineer gameday experience.
WVU Director of Athletics and Associate Vice President Shane Lyons made the announcement on Tuesday, June 15 - five days ahead of West Virginia Day.
That means the resumption of the Mountaineer Mantrip, the Pride of West Virginia's fabulous pregame performance and some outstanding major college football, beginning on Saturday, Sept. 11 with Long Island and continuing a week later with arch-rival Virginia Tech returning to Morgantown for the first time since Oct. 1, 2005.
The Big 12 home slate kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 2 against Texas Tech – a team that has now won two in a row against the Mountaineers – and then continues on Saturday, Oct. 30 against College Football Playoff aspirant Iowa State.
Perennial Top 25 contender Oklahoma State will visit Morgantown on Saturday, Nov. 6, and the home schedule concludes with the Steve Sarkisian-led Texas Longhorns on Saturday, Nov. 20.
It's a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends and make some new friends along the way.
Lyons indicated earlier this week the Mountaineer Ticket Office was busy answering ticket inquiries once it became known the full gameday experience is resuming this fall. He said season ticket sales are approaching 21,000 for a current Milan Puskar Stadium configuration that allows for approximately 38,000 season tickets to be sold.
An additional 12,500 seats are reserved for WVU students.
"We're a little bit behind from where we were in 2019, but from my understanding we do have more new season ticket holders than we've had in recent years," Lyons said. "Hopefully with the announcement Tuesday there is an uptick of people saying, 'Okay, it's now 100% capacity' and that will move them off the fence.
"There are always some additional season tickets sold between the summertime and the home opener, so we'll see where that number ends up," he added.
Lyons said the Mountaineer Ticket Office is operating under its normal pre-COVID time frame, which means the remainder of June will be finishing up priority single-game and mini-package ticket purchases for Mountaineer Athletic Club members and prior single-game ticket holders.
Soon after July 4, mini-packages and single-game tickets will go on sale to the general public.
"I think the mini-sales will pick up our numbers some when they go on sale, and I do think as we get closer to the season, the Virginia Tech game will be a big game for people to focus on," Lyons said.
"I am also hopeful everyone will come back for our first full-capacity game against Long Island to open the season," he added. "It's an opportunity to be involved in the usual social activities surrounding our home football games with tailgating, the band and the game itself. I'd love to see that number continue to climb."
Lyons said season-ticket purchases and Mountaineer Athletic Club support are the key ingredients to having an elite athletic program.
"We need everybody to support us," he said. "That's the climbing higher campaign, the Time2Climb membership drive, buying season tickets or whatever it may be - that's where we need to come together if we want to have a top-caliber program."
To learn more about purchasing Mountaineer football tickets, log on to WVUGAME.com or call the Mountaineer Ticket Office toll-free at 1-800-WVU-GAME.
Meanwhile, Lyons said he is hopeful a proposed 12-team college football playoff format under discussion will be adopted when the College Football Playoff management committee concludes its meeting in Chicago.
A 12-team playoff could give the sport a much-needed boost of adrenaline and it could really stimulate fan interest, particularly in November when teams are vying for playoff spots.
"Without getting into the weeds and the logistics of it, and I'm sure the playoff management committee has a rationale for why a 12-team playoff is better than an eight-team, six-team or whatever, but I think it gives more opportunities for teams," he said.
"During a college football season, when you get into late October or early November, you were down to talking about just five or six teams (for the playoffs)," Lyons noted. "If this 12-team proposal is adopted, you're talking about dozens of teams that are still in contention for playoff spots. You could have 20 or 30 teams still in contention – even the two-loss teams could still be in the mix, and possibly a team in a conference championship game with three losses."
A 12-team college football playoff means teams with September or early October losses are not necessarily eliminated from playoff contention, which means more fans will be engaged much deeper into the season. There is also the possibility of having another home football game for teams that host a playoff game, plus 11 more television opportunities which will generate significantly more revenue for the sport.
"There are some details that need to be ironed out," Lyons concluded.
The tailgating, the fellowship, the ambiance and the excitement of Mountaineer football is returning to Morgantown this fall following the announcement earlier this week that Milan Puskar Stadium is returning to 100% full capacity with no restrictions on the normal Mountaineer gameday experience.
WVU Director of Athletics and Associate Vice President Shane Lyons made the announcement on Tuesday, June 15 - five days ahead of West Virginia Day.
That means the resumption of the Mountaineer Mantrip, the Pride of West Virginia's fabulous pregame performance and some outstanding major college football, beginning on Saturday, Sept. 11 with Long Island and continuing a week later with arch-rival Virginia Tech returning to Morgantown for the first time since Oct. 1, 2005.
The Big 12 home slate kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 2 against Texas Tech – a team that has now won two in a row against the Mountaineers – and then continues on Saturday, Oct. 30 against College Football Playoff aspirant Iowa State.
Perennial Top 25 contender Oklahoma State will visit Morgantown on Saturday, Nov. 6, and the home schedule concludes with the Steve Sarkisian-led Texas Longhorns on Saturday, Nov. 20.
It's a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends and make some new friends along the way.
Lyons indicated earlier this week the Mountaineer Ticket Office was busy answering ticket inquiries once it became known the full gameday experience is resuming this fall. He said season ticket sales are approaching 21,000 for a current Milan Puskar Stadium configuration that allows for approximately 38,000 season tickets to be sold.An additional 12,500 seats are reserved for WVU students.
"We're a little bit behind from where we were in 2019, but from my understanding we do have more new season ticket holders than we've had in recent years," Lyons said. "Hopefully with the announcement Tuesday there is an uptick of people saying, 'Okay, it's now 100% capacity' and that will move them off the fence.
"There are always some additional season tickets sold between the summertime and the home opener, so we'll see where that number ends up," he added.
Lyons said the Mountaineer Ticket Office is operating under its normal pre-COVID time frame, which means the remainder of June will be finishing up priority single-game and mini-package ticket purchases for Mountaineer Athletic Club members and prior single-game ticket holders.
Soon after July 4, mini-packages and single-game tickets will go on sale to the general public.
"I think the mini-sales will pick up our numbers some when they go on sale, and I do think as we get closer to the season, the Virginia Tech game will be a big game for people to focus on," Lyons said.
"I am also hopeful everyone will come back for our first full-capacity game against Long Island to open the season," he added. "It's an opportunity to be involved in the usual social activities surrounding our home football games with tailgating, the band and the game itself. I'd love to see that number continue to climb."
Lyons said season-ticket purchases and Mountaineer Athletic Club support are the key ingredients to having an elite athletic program.
"We need everybody to support us," he said. "That's the climbing higher campaign, the Time2Climb membership drive, buying season tickets or whatever it may be - that's where we need to come together if we want to have a top-caliber program."
To learn more about purchasing Mountaineer football tickets, log on to WVUGAME.com or call the Mountaineer Ticket Office toll-free at 1-800-WVU-GAME.
Meanwhile, Lyons said he is hopeful a proposed 12-team college football playoff format under discussion will be adopted when the College Football Playoff management committee concludes its meeting in Chicago.
A 12-team playoff could give the sport a much-needed boost of adrenaline and it could really stimulate fan interest, particularly in November when teams are vying for playoff spots.
"Without getting into the weeds and the logistics of it, and I'm sure the playoff management committee has a rationale for why a 12-team playoff is better than an eight-team, six-team or whatever, but I think it gives more opportunities for teams," he said.
"During a college football season, when you get into late October or early November, you were down to talking about just five or six teams (for the playoffs)," Lyons noted. "If this 12-team proposal is adopted, you're talking about dozens of teams that are still in contention for playoff spots. You could have 20 or 30 teams still in contention – even the two-loss teams could still be in the mix, and possibly a team in a conference championship game with three losses."
A 12-team college football playoff means teams with September or early October losses are not necessarily eliminated from playoff contention, which means more fans will be engaged much deeper into the season. There is also the possibility of having another home football game for teams that host a playoff game, plus 11 more television opportunities which will generate significantly more revenue for the sport.
"There are some details that need to be ironed out," Lyons concluded.
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