Phil Houk grew up less than two miles from Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend and started attending Irish football games when he was 5 years old.
As a kid, Houk would head over to the stadium on game day and try to “bum tickets”
from someone who had an extra and was willing to part with it. As he got older and demand for tickets increased, it became more and more difficult to secure seats, especially by trying to buy them off scalpers.
Now, Houk has to lean on friends and family who are alumni to get tickets.
He’s not alone.
There is such a demand for tickets to Notre Dame football games that about two out of five are distributed through a lottery that favors those who donate to the school. That process, held last week for the coming season, can push ticket prices into thousands of dollars for a pair of fans.
Yet, the process is widely accepted. After all, it’s Notre Dame – the Fighting Irish.
It’s a chance to soak up the tradition of one of the most storied programs in the nation. The lone program that has its own major TV network deal reportedly worth $9 million annually. A program that has sold out games since the 1970s and generates such fervor that South Bend residents often rent out their houses on football weekends to visiting fans.
It’s a program built on the shoulders of famed coach Knute Rockne, his celebrated backfield dubbed the Four Horsemen and the immortal plea from a dying player to “Win one for the Gipper.”
Movies have been made about it. Touchdown Jesus watches over it.
With such intense interest, few football programs in the nation rival Notre Dame’s and its financial prowess.
In fact, none did in 2005-06, according to a Journal Gazette review of Department of Education Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act reports. In 2006-07, the most recent filing year, Notre Dame football generated nearly $64 million through ticket sales and other revenue sources, about $125,000 less than the University of Texas, which earned the top spot.
Notre Dame football generated more revenue than the entire athletic department at Purdue or Indiana universities, according to the newspaper’s look at the EADA reports. The Irish’s net profit for football, minus expenses, was nearly $46 million. That’s more than the Boilermakers and Hoosiers’ combined revenue ($42 million) for the sport.
“(Notre Dame’s) is a little bit more special than other football programs,”
said Houk, who moved to Fort Wayne in 1986 and has been a magistrate in Allen Superior Court since 1987. “There’s a spirit that you get up there when you see the golden dome, and it just strikes you. It’s a remarkable thing to have that strong attraction. When it gets you, it doesn’t let you go.”
