Michigan fans wave a flag during a home game against Iowa last year.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
Michigan will move to dynamic pricing for its single-game football tickets sales this fall, a move that could result in elevated costs for attending marquee home games.
According to the school, a computer program will be implemented to determine prices based on their current market value. Team performance, visiting team performance, weather, inventory and more will be taken into account.
Ticket prices will change over time, but will not move below their original $65 face value. Season ticket prices will not be subject to the system.
Dynamic pricing for sports tickets is used by more than half of Major League Baseball teams, as well as NBA and NHL teams, according to the athletic department. Michigan is one of the first college sports programs to adopt the model.
According to a post on MGoBlue, the move is in part due to increased use of secondary ticket markets. Michigan has an exclusive agreement with Stubhub that will remain unchanged.
"Dynamic pricing is a practice that has become standard across the sports and entertainment industry after gaining acceptance through airlines and hotels," Michigan chief marketing officer Hunter Lochmann said in a statement. "Pricing dynamically will allow us to adjust single-game ticket prices upward or downward based on real-time market conditions with the biggest factor being fan demand."
The move comes two months after the athletic department announced a 23 percent hike for student tickets, to $40 per game.
Single game tickets for the 2013 season will go on sale July 30 to season ticket holders, to donors July 31 and to the general public Aug. 1. Michigan has seven home dates this fall: Aug. 31 vs. Central Michigan, Sept. 7 vs. Notre Dame, Sept. 14 vs. Akron, Oct. 5 vs. Minnesota, Oct. 19 vs. Indiana, Nov. 9 vs. Nebraska, and Nov. 30 vs. Ohio State.
Kyle Austin covers sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kyleaustin@annarbor.com or 734-623-2535. Follow him on Twitter @KAustin_AA.