Air Force has sold 3,500 tickets to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, a number that probably falls well short of its allotment.
The Falcons’ Association of Graduates has also canceled, or at least downsized, a pregame tailgate before Saturday’s game against Western Michigan in Boise, Idaho, but associate athletic director Jim Trego said that decision does not necessarily reflect the number of the team’s fans who will be in attendance at the game.
Representatives from Air Force, the Mountain West and the Potato Bowl were not able to provide the number of tickets the Falcons were supposed to sell for the game.
Falcons fans also faced a 13-day turnaround from the time the bowl was announced to when it is played, meaning airfare was expensive.
Air Force would be penalized by having the shortfall in ticket revenue deducted from its share of the pooled conference bowl payout. The Falcons could make up for that by staying under their travel budget, which Trego said the team is on pace to do.
If a team were to sell beyond its allotted ticket total, it would keep 50 percent of that revenue while the other 50 percent goes into a pot to be split 12 ways among the conference members.
Potato Bowl media contact Michelle Railsback said 25,600 tickets had been sold for the bowl as of Tuesday, a large gain from the game’s 21,951 attendance in 2013, when San Diego State beat Buffalo 49-24.
An e-mail from Air Force Academy associate athletic director Nancy Hixson noted a chunk of the 3,500 tickets sold through Air Force’s ticket office were bought with the intention of being donated.
“Many of these tickets were graciously purchased and will be donated to active-duty military members in the greater Boise area via our Tickets For Troops campaign,” Hixson wrote. “We are continually thankful for our amazing fan base.”
The Air Force football team arrived in Boise at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, leaving it just enough time to go to the hotel for a change of clothes before meeting Western Michigan for a bowling contest.
The Falcons then practiced Wednesday morning before riding go-karts in the early afternoon. Falcons offensive lineman Michael Husar’s graduation ceremony was scheduled for Wednesday night.
On Thursday the team will hold a team photo, practice and join Western Michigan at the Humanitarian Awards Banquet.
