Let’s face it. People will go to any event if they know a big celebrity is going to be involved. People love the Marvel movies not because they are about superheroes, but because of some of the names they have playing the characters (i.e. Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, and now Paul Rudd).
The same goes for sporting events. Cleveland Cavaliers fans would go to the games because they are Cavs fans, but a lot more went this past season to see LeBron James.
It seems as though new Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has had that same effect.
According to College Football Talk, Harbaugh’s arrival in Ann Arbor has had a huge impact on the attendance at Michigan Stadium. The spring game for the Wolverines saw a big jump from 15,000 in 2014 to over 60,000 this year. Harbaugh has also helped get ticket sales rolling for the regular season as well.
According to Michigan athletics director Jim Hackett, all eighty-one of Michigan’s luxury boxes have been sold out for the 2015 season since the spring. The Wolverines have also seen an increase at the ticket sales office as well.
Hackett addressed the school’s financial state saying that school lost $7.9 million last fiscal year, but he has optimism for the upcoming school year. Michigan football currently has a waiting list of more than 1,500 people for season ticket sales and the school has already sold more than 18,000 single-game tickets for the upcoming season.
If Harbaugh is already having this kind of effect for the team, imagine what will happen once he starts pulling his crazy antics on the sideline or during post-game press conferences.
Imagine if he leads the Wolverines to a 10-2 season in his first year. That will really get fans excited.
Heck, I’d be excited too if my college football team’s coach was as crazy as Harbaugh.
Oh wait, Les Miles already is.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
