Michigan ticket prices soar in hopes of Jim Harbaugh sighting
The most expensive Michigan basketball game on StubHub isn't for the Wolverines' matchups against Big Ten favorite Wisconsin, in-state foe Michigan State or ancient rival Ohio State.
None of those are even close to as expensive as Tuesday's run-of-the-mill game against unranked Illinois.
The reason the cheapest ticket for the game against the Illini is selling for $132.35 as of Sunday morning is that Michigan fans are willing to spend big bucks for the chance to see Jim Harbaugh speak at halftime. CSNBayArea.com reported that Michigan has reached an agreement with the San Francisco 49ers coach and that he will be introduced as the school's next football coach at a news conference Tuesday morning.
Tickets to the Illinois game are selling for as much as four or five times the price of similar seats to Michigan's other Big Ten games.
There are dozens of seats available to Michigan's Jan. 27 matchup with Nebraska for less than $30 apiece. Same with subsequent games against Iowa and Rutgers. Even Michigan's annual home game against the hated Buckeyes features numerous tickets on StubHub selling between $80 and $100.
A loud, enthusiastic crowd against Illinois would certainly help a Michigan team that has endured some unexpected losses in non-league play. The Wolverines dropped four straight earlier this month including bad losses against lightweights NJIT and Eastern Michigan.
Excitement for the potential hire of Harbaugh as Michigan's new football coach stems from his successful track record and the Wolverines' lousy recent history.
Harbaugh, a former star quarterback at Michigan, transformed Stanford from a one-win team to a perennial Pac-12 contender before leaving for the 49ers and taking them to three straight NFC title games from 2012-2014. Michigan, on the other hand, dipped under Rich Rodriguez and bottomed out under Brady Hoke, failing to reach a bowl game this season for only the third time since 1975.
(Thanks, Reddit College Basketball)
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
