Razorback Fans a Force at Bowl Box Office

When it comes to college football bowl season, Razorback fans are among the nation’s best in following their team. This week, for the fifth-consecutive Arkansas bowl appearance, Razorback fans have stepped forward to purchase the entire initial allotment of bowl tickets provided to the school.

Arkansas fans have staked claim to just under 17,000 tickets to the 2016 AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, on Jan. 2, where the Razorbacks will take on Kansas State. Due to the high demand, the University of Arkansas secured additional tickets from the Liberty Bowl to accommodate even more Razorback fans.

“When it comes to bowl season, the University of Arkansas is known throughout the nation for its tremendous fan support,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long said. “Inviting the Razorbacks to its game gives a bowl and the local community a boost with the economic impact created by our fans coming to cheer on our team. While many programs around the country are working to sell the minimum number of tickets, we are working hard to secure additional tickets beyond the allotment to meet the demand of our fans. We sincerely appreciate the rabid interest and support of Razorback fans and look forward to seeing that Razorback red in the Liberty Bowl in January.”

Arkansas has long been noted for its loyal and passionate fan base. In fact, it is fitting that the Razorbacks are headed back to Memphis. After all, it was the Razorbacks 2009 trip to the game that started a postseason bowl ticket streak of sellouts that is still going strong.

In 2009, Arkansas easily sold out of its initial allotment (11,000 tickets) and an additional allotment for the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, a game that Razorbacks won 20-17 in overtime against East Carolina. The Liberty Bowl was filled with cardinal and white as fans gobbled up more than 25,400 tickets through the school and thousands more through various other sources.

The following year, Razorback fans invaded the “Big Easy” as Arkansas made a Bowl Championship Series appearance in the 2011 Sugar Bowl. Arkansas fans gobbled up the 17,500 tickets allotted to the school and after all was said and done more than 19,000 Razorback faithful had purchased tickets to the game through Razorback Athletics.

Through the years, Arkansas has been a force at the box office when it comes time for the Razorbacks to play in the Cotton Bowl. Razorback fans lived up to that reputation again when their beloved team headed to Arlington to battle the Kansas State Wildcats in the 2012 AT&T Cotton Bowl. Arkansas quickly burned through its allotment of 12,500 tickets and worked to obtain a limited number of additional tickets made available. The Cotton Bowl was one of the hottest tickets of the bowl season and by the end more than 13,400 Razorback fans had been accommodated through the Razorback Ticket Center with thousands more in the stands through other means.

While the Cotton Bowl has been a mainstay in the Razorback bowl lineup through the years, Arkansas’ inaugural trip to the 2014 AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl in Houston provided a matchup between two old Southwest Conference rivals. Arkansas and Texas would renew its gridiron rivalry in a primetime slot at NRG Stadium. Shortly after the teams were officially announced, Razorback fans flooded the official ticket site to purchase the 8,000 tickets allotted to each school. Additional tickets helped accommodate more than 10,220 fans through the Razorback Ticket Center. The game was declared a sellout, the first in the game’s history. And the Cardinal and White didn’t disappoint the pro-Razorback crowd in attendance. Arkansas dominated the game earning a 31-7 win over Texas in front of more than 71,115 fans.

So what should people expect in Memphis on Jan. 2? Well if the past is any indication, a steady stream of Razorback Red invading Memphis from all corners. After all, it is bowl time and Razorback fans are ready to go.

That’s what makes Razorback fans the most passionate in the nation and helps make Arkansas an attractive bowl selection year in and year out.