Student season tickets for the 2007 University of Wisconsin football season are sold out.
After only three days, every single one of the 10,500 student tickets was gone by Tuesday afternoon.
Including a $10 surcharge, the $143 ticket packages — which went on sale at 8:30 a.m. Saturday — secured more than $1.5 million for the UW Athletic Department.
Justin Doherty, director of UW Athletic Communications, said this year's ticket packages sold out much faster than last year and attributed the speedy sale in part to the dedication of Badger fans.
"I think it's always been fast," Doherty said. "We have great students that enjoy being at Camp Randall on Saturdays, and we have a good product on the field. That all combines to equal a fast sale."
Doherty said the strong schedule with marquee games against Michigan, Iowa and non-conference foe Washington State might have drawn some added attention.
"We've got a good schedule for next season with great non-conference and conference team play," Doherty said. "You combine that and the enthusiasm, and the interest level is always great here."
After Athletic Director Barry Alvarez took over the head coach position in 1990 and became the winningest coach in school history, Doherty said Badger games became a strongly rooted tradition.
"I just think, over time, word spreads that people enjoy it and really pass that fun along to siblings, and it becomes a generational thing," Doherty said.
UW junior Kimberly Kalik, who woke up early Saturday morning to secure her spot, said she participates in the tradition at Camp Randall in part because of the tradition in her family.
"I was worried they would sell out," Kalik said. "My father's an alumnus, so I wanted to make sure I got a seat. It runs in the family to be a Badger football fan."
UW freshman Colin Wiesner said he was determined to get tickets this year after not winning the freshman lottery last year, forcing him to purchase his tickets on eBay.
"I think it's nice that people are actually rewarded for knowing what's going on instead of just having their number pulled out of a hat like last year," Wiesner said.
Wiesner added he wasn't concerned with getting his ticket in time, even with the early startup time Saturday.
"I knew they were going on sale, but I wasn't really concerned that they would sell out before lunchtime because I figured people would still be hung over from Friday," Wiesner said.
Kalik said several of her friends did not get tickets in time because of the quick sale, but added that she would not consider selling her tickets, even with the increased demand.
"I was really surprised because I know a lot of my friends didn't get them in time," Kalik said.
With athletic programs growing in popularity every season, Wiesner said it was no shock the tickets went fast.
"It doesn't really surprise me," Wiesner said. "It seems like Badger sports in general are getting more and more popular every year."
