Liberty Bowl tickets going fast

By By Will Bardwell/staff writer
December 21, 2003
HATTIESBURG Southern Miss is 10 days away from its first Liberty Bowl appearance in four years, and ticket sales indicate that fans are happy to be going back.
Ticket sales to the Dec. 31 game against Utah are up significantly from USM's previous three bowl appearances and may set a new school record.
USM was allotted 16,000 tickets for the game, which is held at the 62,000-seat Liberty Bowl stadium in Memphis, Tenn. Of the allotted tickets, 9,455 were sold as of Friday afternoon. Another 1,200 have been distributed, leaving about 5,300 tickets for sale.
The 1997 Liberty Bowl was the biggest bowl turnout in school history, when the Conference USA champion Golden Eagles dismantled Pittsburgh 41-7. That year, about 12,500 tickets were sold, with a total of 13,759 distributed. At the current pace, Southern Miss athletic director Richard Giannini said that mark will be eclipsed this year.
The Liberty Bowl's payout to each team depends on a sellout of the ticket allotment.
Giannini said the trip to Memphis will cost USM about $550,000. Any money left over will be absorbed into the athletic budget.
While tickets are available directly from the Liberty Bowl ticket office, Giannini said he hopes Golden Eagle supporters will buy their tickets from the university box office.
Tickets will also be available in Memphis after the team arrives next week.
Tickets will also be available at the Southern Miss ticket office through game day. Each ticket to the game costs $40.
The Southern Miss ticket office mailed out most of its ticket orders on Thursday. The remaining advance orders were shipped Friday.