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Ticket Prices For Duke Vs. UNC Are Obscene As Coach K’s Final Game Will Likely Smash Records

#College Basketball
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Ticket Prices For Duke Vs. UNC Are Obscene As Coach K's Final Game Will Likely Smash Records

Getty Image / Grant Halverson


  • Coach K’s final home game as the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball coach will take place this coming weekend against rival UNC
  • Ticket prices to Coach K’s final home game are already the highest most people have ever seen for a regular season game and they’re getting higher
  • Read more College Basketball articles right here

Coach K is set to coach in his final home game as the Duke Blue Devils men’s basketball coach this coming weekend when Duke hosts rival UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The #4-ranked Blue Devils have their eyes set on March Madness but first, they’ll have to run through the Tar Heels and ACC tournament.

Since the moment it was announced Coach K was retiring there was chatter about ticket prices and how they’d go through the roof. Everyone wants a final chance to see Mike Krzyzewski coach in person one last time before one of the greatest (the greatest?) of all time retires.

Even prior to the retirement announcement, Duke Blue Devils tickets were already the most expensive ticket in College Basketball. The average ticket price on the secondary market was $670 two years ago! Coach K’s farewell tour has sent those ticket prices through the roof with Saturday’s final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium set to smash records.

Ticket Prices For Duke Vs. UNC Are Obscene As Coach K’s Final Game Will Likely Smash Records

According to this report from Front Office Sports, the cheapest ticket to just get in the door right now is $3,690 and the average ticket price is $5,392. Cameron Indoor Stadium only holds 9,314 people at maximum capacity (rival UNC’s stadium holds 21,750).

Duke’s ticket prices aren’t just barely the most expensive tickets in College Basketball, it’s not even close. The average ticket price for Duke Blue Devils games three years ago was $670 and the next closest was the Kentucky Wildcats at $235 followed by the Kansas Jayhawks at $198. UNC’s average price that year was $152, or less than 25% the price of a Blue Devils ticket.

There are currently two tickets on StubHub for UNC vs. Duke listed at $75,000 each, another set listed at $67,600 each, and another pair priced at $63,440. Prices to Coach K’s final home game as the Duke Blue Devils head coach are basically at the same price as Super Bowl tickets.

What are College Basketball fans saying about these prices?

Should someone tell him it’s not about his birthday?

Weird take, tbh.

This tweet was from several days ago, the NFTs comparison seems apropos.

Why Are Tickets To Coach K’s Final Game So Expensive?

One thing that’s at play here is Duke University tends to graduate successful and wealthy alumni. Duke students are making over six figures (on average) within a decade of graduating which can’t be said for every university in the United States. So you have a relatively wealthy alumni base, a TON of former pro athletes who played for both of these teams, all competing for a small number of tickets to Coach K’s final home game.

The tip-off to UNC vs Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium will be Saturday at 6 pm. It’s a must-watch game if you are a College Basketball fan even if you hate Coach K and the Duke Blue Devils. Set your TVs accordingly.

Going into this season, the 10 most expensive games in college basketball were ALL Duke games, according to an older article from the Action Network. The last time UNC played Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium (March 7, 2020) the average ticket price was $1,742. So it’s not as if these tickets have ever been cheap but Coach K’s farewell tour has sent prices through the roof.