Florida State faces a unique situation regarding the highly-anticipated FSU-Notre Dame football showdown in November.
The university's ticket supply to the game in South Bend, Indiana, is so limited that only the top three donor tiers in Seminole Boosters, Inc., will have the opportunity to request tickets.
Notre Dame – following its agreement with the ACC -- will provide FSU with approximately 5,000 tickets for the Nov. 10 game.
Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ABC.
Seminole Boosters, Inc. emailed a letter to its membership Tuesday evening alerting it of the limited ticket availability.
The organization did so now rather than after the March 1 priority ticket deadline, to give its members ample time to make plans, including securing tickets through the secondary ticket marketplace.
The letter explained that historically, more than 80 percent of FSU’s highest level donors request tickets for high-demand games.
Given the tickets available for sale and the expected demand for the Notre Dame game, the following request limits have been set by Seminole Boosters, Inc:
Legacy Chiefs, Platinum Chiefs and the Top 150 Donors: 4 tickets
Golden Chiefs: 2 tickets.
“We have never had a game where we had to set such restrictive limits,” Seminole Booster President and CEO Andy Miller said in the letter.
“Typically we’ve been able to provide our Golden Chiefs with at least four tickets and at least two tickets to our Silver Chiefs and Tomahawk level donors. This is a very unique situation, with the supply of tickets so limited.”
The priority deadline, including Notre Dame ticket requests, is March 1.
The Seminoles have not played at Notre Dame since 2003 when FSU beat the Fighting Irish 37-0.
The game will mark the 25-year anniversary of the 1993 contest between No. 1 FSU and No. 2 Notre Dame -- dubbed the “Game of the Century.”
FSU has won five of the last six meetings (1994, 1995, 2003, 2011, 2014), including two bowl victories (the January 1996 Orange Bowl and the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl).
Secondary markets such as StubHub and VividSeats were selling tickets Tuesday ranging from $1,702 each in the lower sideline level to $288 in the upper end zone level.
Despite the strict limits set for the Notre Dame game, the Seminoles expect to be able to fulfill donor requests for all other 2018 away games, including Louisville, Miami and North Carolina State.
FSU also plans to hold a game-viewing party at Doak Campbell Stadium for the Notre Dame game.
"While we can't increase the supply of tickets we were provided by Notre Dame, we can create a memorable game watching experience in Doak for our Seminole Booster members and fans utilizing our high definition scoreboards and ribbon boards," said Jerry Kutz, Senior Vice President of Seminole boosters.
"If we don't get enough tickets to put our valued members in a seat in South Bend, we'll do our best to bring a virtual experience here to them."
Florida State vs. Notre Dame Future Matchups
2018: Nov. 10–Florida State at Notre Dame
2021: Sept. 6–Notre Dame at Florida State (Labor Day Monday)
2024: Florida State at Notre Dame (date TBA)