Michigan fans trying to go to national championship game in Houston will have to spend big

Michigan football finally broke through the College Football Playoff semifinal after beating Alabama, 27-20 in overtime, and will be playing for its first national championship since 1997.

The Wolverines will play the winner of Monday night's Sugar Bowl between Texas and Washington. The national championship game will be Jan. 8 at NRG Stadium in Houston. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be on ESPN (and several other ESPN networks).

But if you're trying to get there in person, we hope you didn't blow all of your money on holiday gifts.

SHAWN WINDSOR: Michigan proves what it knew along: The Wolverines belong among the best

Airfare

A drive from Ann Arbor to Houston is 19 hours nonstop. So maybe you want to take a flight down to Texas for the game.

Sports business reporter Darren Rovell found that flights from Detroit to Houston and back on Saturday and returning the day after the game are starting at $2,397. '

The drive down doesn't sound as long now.

Getting into the game

Tickets for the Rose Bowl started near $500 but quickly rose as demand to see the heavyweight matchup between the two blue bloods increased, with some tickets being sold for as much as $13,000.

But if you thought that was expensive, just wait to see the prices for the national championship. Tickets on secondary markets online start north of $2,500 for the cheapest seats in NRG Stadium.

RAINER SABIN: Michigan's comeback win in Rose Bowl extends dream season, allows fans to celebrate

Tickets are going quickly, too. Prior to the Rose Bowl, multiple ticket-resale services listed the tickets as “going fast” or "popular" on their website, and each showed there were tickets available in about half the stadium. The 200 and 400 levels, which are reserved for suites, are sold out, while a number of tickets remain available for club seats at the 300 level.

Here is a quick cheat sheet of ticket prices for the national championship on secondary markets. Prices and availability could fluctuate.

Ticketmaster

600 level

Cheapest ticket: $2,850

500 level

Cheapest ticket: $3,375

300 level (club seats)

Cheapest ticket: $3,579

Price range: $2,596-$9,448

100 level

Cheapest ticket: $3,518

StubHub

600 level

Cheapest ticket: $2,716

500 level

Cheapest ticket: $2,897

300 level (club seats)

Cheapest ticket: $3,464

100 level

Cheapest ticket: $3,385

SeatGeek

600 level

Cheapest ticket: $2,414

500 level

Cheapest ticket: $2,525

300 level (club seats)

Cheapest ticket: $3,391

100 level

Cheapest ticket: $3,077

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan-Washington national championship tickets: Expect to spend big