Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuck felt very confident that the service academy would easily sell the 12,500 tickets required for the Midshipmen?s upcoming Meineke Car Care Bowl matchup against Boston College Dec. 30 in Charlotte, N.C.
So far, Navy fans have exceeded his expectations. The school has sold 17,000 tickets entering this week. This compares to 6,000 tickets at this time last year when Navy prepared to travel to San Diego to play in the Poinsettia Bowl.
Now, Gladchuck is hopeful Navy can sell at least 30,000 tickets and pack Bank of America Stadium full of Midshipmen fans when Navy (9-3) plays its first bowl game on the East Coast since the 1980 Garden State Bowl in East Rutherford, N.J.
Gladchuck said playing closer to Annapolis this year played a large role in Navy securing a bowl agreement over the summer with the Meineke Car Care Bowl. This season marks Navy?s fourth straight year it has played in a bowl game ? the previous sites being in San Diego, San Francisco and Houston.
“Finding a bowl game on the East Coast was a prerequisite for us,” Gladchuck said. “Charlotte is a great location for us because its central in the East Coast and an easy drive along I-95 for fans to get to.”
Gladchuck said Navy has to show it can attract fans to a bowl game more than most schools because of its independent status. Most bowl games have a tie-in with various conferences. He added that after eight months of hard work to get Navy aligned with the Meineke Car Care Bowl, he needs fans? help to reach the 30,000-ticket plateau.
“We accomplished our goal of finding a bowl game close to home,” Gladchuck said. “We?re now challenging our fans to show up in force.”
Meineke Car Care Bowl executive director WilliamWebb said he is extremely pleased with Navy?s ticket sales so far. About 50,000 of the 74,000 tickets have already been sold for the game.
“With this being Navy?s first bowl game on the East Coast in many, many years, along with the success the program has had and coach Paul Johnson staying with the team, Navy has a lot of momentum and we expect a large crowd from them,” Webb said.
Meineke Car Care Bowl
» Who: Navy (9-3) vs. Boston College (9-3)
» Where: Charlotte, N.C.
» When: 1 p.m., Dec. 30
» TV: ESPN
