One wouldn't think it would be too hard to sell tickets to the first conference championship game in Navy football history.
However, a large segment of the Navy fan base doesn't seem to think it's all that big a deal.
Naval Academy athletic director Chet Gladchuk expressed concern on Wednesday night for the pace of ticket sales for Saturday's AAC championship game against Temple. Gladchuk encouraged Navy fans that have not purchased tickets to hurry up and do so.
"When you think about it, the privilege we've earned to host this game is extraordinary. This is a tremendous opportunity for our football team and quite an accomplishment," Gladchuk said. "You would think that something as historic as this is would excite our fan base."
Navy averaged 33,322 for five home games this season. Naval Academy Athletic Association officials were thrilled with the turnout for the Tulsa contest as the crowd of 36,397 was the 10th-largest in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
Matt Munnelly, Navy's senior associate athletic director in charge of ticket operations, said his department still has work to do in order to get a typical crowd on Saturday. Munnelly said 22,000 tickets had been sold as of Thursday night.
"Our crowd is critical for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is to support this team that is so very deserving of having a home field advantage for this game. "I'm hopeful that our fan base will step up and give the football team a big lift on Saturday."
Gladchuk said head coach Ken Niumatalolo taped a message urging Navy fans to turn out on Saturday and explaining the importance of having a raucous crowd on hand. NAAA delivered Niumatalolo's plea for support to 150,000 supporters by automated phone call.
"Our ticket office has been open until 9 o'clock every night and our people have been working hard to promote the game. We've even made personal calls to our season ticket holders," Gladchuk said.
Part of the problem is that Navy did not know it was hosting the American Athletic Conference championship game until late last Saturday night. That meant the ticket sales effort could not begin in earnest until Sunday morning.
Another issue is that a large contingent of fans attending football games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium are there as part of a Naval Academy class reunion. Gladchuk said there are five or six class reunions for every home game and those gatherings bring back 3,000 to 4,000 alums.
"We're not about making excuses for anything, but there is an X factor to Navy football and that's the reunion groups," Gladchuk said. "No reunions coupled with not being able to target group sales because we didn't formally know we were hosting until Saturday night has hurt. That is why we really need the energy and enthusiasm of the fan base to come through this week. We need them to make a commitment to come to Saturday's game and bring neighbors and friends."
Navy and Temple both posted 7-1 records in the American Athletic Conference this season. That necessitated a tiebreaker and the Midshipmen received home-field advantage for the championship game by virtue of being in the College Football Playoff rankings while the Owls were not. The Midshipmen, who are 19th in the latest CFP rankings and No. 18 in the Associated Press poll, have won 15 straight games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
"It's really exciting for our program to have the championship game here in a venue where we've had a lot of success," Niumatalolo said. "We're going to need all our fans to come and cheer and support and be loud for us. We're going to need every edge and advantage we can get. Hopefully, playing at home will be a benefit for us."