K-State vs Iowa State ticket sales make for ‘biggest game’ in Ireland football series
The Aer Lingus College Football Classic has become a staple on the sports calendar.
You know football season is back whenever two teams travel to Dublin, Ireland, and face off in a Week Zero game at Aviva Stadium in late August.
Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Navy, Nebraska, Northwestern and Notre Dame have all made the trek overseas and played in that game in recent years. Iowa State and Kansas State are next up on August 23. Fans on both sides of the Farmageddon rivalry are counting down the days (178 as of Tuesday) until kickoff.
But time is running out for supporters to purchase tickets. American sales come to an end on Friday.
So far, ticket sales have been strong, according to Aer Lingus College Football Classic commercial director of the game Brendan Meehan. With close to 18,500 tickets already sold to K-State and Iowa State supporters, he thinks this is shaping up to be “the biggest game we’ve brought here.”
“It’s different from previous years, because we have usually predominantly had only one university that traveled,” Meehan said. “Last year, 80% of the fans were for Florida State University. The year before that it was the same with Notre Dame and the year before that it was the same with Nebraska. This is the first year where it will be a 50/50 split with Kansas State University on one side and Iowa State University on the other. I can’t wait to see their colors in Dublin and at the stadium.”
Meehan estimates that both schools will bring between 10,000 and 12,500 fans with them to Ireland in the summer.
At this moment, though, he says Iowa State is “slightly ahead” of K-State in ticket sales.
He challenged K-State fans to close that gap by the end of the week, as there is no secondary market for tickets in Ireland. Once the game is sold out, there is no easy way to obtain tickets.
To that end, both schools have publicized this game for months.
Iowa State defeated K-State 29-21 in the final game of the 2024 regular season in November. The rematch in 2025 could be more exciting, as both teams are likely to be ranked in the preseason top 25.
That will also give their matchup in Ireland a big-game feel.
“It’s the first Big 12 game that we’ve had here,” Meehan said. “It’s also two teams coming off incredibly successful seasons with two returning quarterbacks. These are two teams who believe that they can win the Big 12 championship. Whoever wins this game will have serious momentum. So we believe that this is going to be a really competitive game.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "K-State vs Iowa State ticket sales make for ‘biggest game’ in Ireland football series."