Georgia-Alabama is the Highest Priced Conference Championship Game Ticket
As the college football season works its way toward rivalry weekend and the end of the regular season, demand for the College Football Playoffs and conference championship games is rising. This season marks the fifth anniversary of the CFP, which replaced the Bowl Championship Series in 2014-15. The national championship, which will be played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. on Jan. 7, 2019, has a current average asking price of $2,146 on the secondary market, according to secondary ticket marketplace TicketIQ.com. The get-in price is $795.
Before the national semifinals and finals, come the Power Five conference championships. With Week 10 complete, three teams are unbeaten -- Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame. The three are ranked 1-2-3 by the CFB, with Michigan, which lost to Notre Dame in the season opener, at No. 4.
Alabama has already secured its spot in the SEC championship game, where it will play Georgia, currently No. 5 in the CFP rankings. The other conference championships have not yet been set, though Clemson has secured a spot in the ACC title game.
Below is a look at the Power Five conference championship games
SEC Championship Game
When/Where: December 1, 2018 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)
Average asking price: $820
Get-in price: $427
The only Power Five conference championship that already has its teams set -- No. 1 Alabama will play No. 5 Georgia -- this game has the highest average asking price on the secondary market, according to TicketIQ.com. The game will be a rematch of last season's CFP championship, in which Alabama beat Georgia for its fifth national championship since 2009. The Tide has been ranked No. 1 in the CFP since the first round of rankings came out and won seven of its 10 games by 45 points or more. Georgia, which likely needs to win the conference championship to get a CFP invite, lost to LSU at Death Valley in October for its only loss. While the SEC champion has traditionally gotten a Sugar Bowl invite, it's a pretty sure bet the winner of this game will go to a CFP semifinal at either the Orange or Cotton bowls.
ACC Championship Game
When/Where: December 1, 2018 at Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte)
Average asking price: $164
Get-in price: $74
No. 2 Clemson, which was the 2016-17 national champion, has already secured the Atlantic Division regular-season title and a spot in the conference championship. This game game pits the Atlantic winner vs. the Coastal Division winner. Pittsburgh, which is 5-1 in ACC play, is currently atop the Coastal Division. The Panthers close out the season with two of the ACC's weaker teams, Wake Forest and Miami, so it's likely they'll face Clemson in the title game. According to TicketIQ.com, this game is the second cheapest of the Power Five conference championships. The winner of this game usually heads to the Camping World Bowl, but it's likely that if Clemson wins, it will go to a CFP semifinal instead.
BIG 12 Championship Game
When/Where: December 1, 2018 at AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Tex.)
Average asking price: $285
Get-in price: $62
It's looking like the Big 12 championship game will feature two Top 10 teams -- No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 7 West Virginia -- which are both 6-1 in conference play. The Sooners only conference loss was to No. 13 Texas and the Mountaineers only loss was to No. 18 Iowa State. Should both teams win this weekend, they'll finish the season playing each other, and that game could determine which team has the best regular-season record. Either way, it's likely they'll play for the conference championship. Between 2010 and last year's conference championship, the Big 12 winner wasn't determined by a single game, but by a round-robin format. The Big 12 currently has no divisions, so the title game pits the top two teams by record. This game has the second highest average asking price among the Power Five, and there are still more than 2,500 tickets available on the secondary market. The winner of this game goes to the Sugar Bowl, where it plays the SEC champion … unless the SEC champion plays in the CFP, which is likely because Alabama is ranked No. 1 and at the top of the SEC.
Big Ten Championship Game
When/Where: December 1, 2018 at Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)
Average asking price: $260
Get-in price: $77
In a conference championship that pits the East winner vs. the West, it looks like No. 4 Michigan will play Northwestern. The Wolverines are the only team with no Big Ten losses -- both No. 22 Northwestern and No. 10 Ohio State have one. The Buckeyes, who are currently second in the East, could play the spoiler if they upset Michigan in the annual rivalry game on November 24. The Big Ten began playing a conference championship in 2011. Prior to that, the conference winner was determined by regular-season record. The Big Ten winner gets an automatic berth to the Rose Bowl, unless it is invited to a CFP game. Should Michigan win, it's likely the Wolverines will get a CFP invite. The current average asking price for the Big Ten championship is $260, third most expensive among Power Five conference championships. According to TicketIQ.com, 2,701 tickets remain, the most still available for any of the conference championships.
PAC-12 Championship Game
When/Where: November 30, 2018 at Levi’s Stadium (San Francisco Bay Area)
Average asking price: $129
Get-in price: $40
The highest ranked team in the Pac-12 is No. 8 Washington State and the Cougars will likely represent the North Division in the conference championship. Unranked Utah separated itself from the pack in the South Division by beating Oregon last weekend. The Pac-12 champion gets an automatic berth to the Rose Bowl, barring a CFP invite, which doesn't look likely for any of the teams. This game has the lowest average asking price on the secondary market across all the Power Five conference championships, and it's possible the participants won't be set until the week before the game. The Cougars, clearly the strongest team in the conference, close out the season with games against Arizona and No. 25 Washington, who could play the spoiler.
