PROVO, Utah – BYU/Notre Dame in Las Vegas this October is likely to go down as the hottest ticket in BYU football history.

Since ticket details for the Sin City clash between the Cougars and Irish were announced last Friday, the reaction from BYU fans has not been well-received online.

🏈: @BYUfootball vs. @NDFootball
📅: Saturday, Oct. 8
⏰: 5:30 p.m. (MT)
📍: @AllegiantStadm
📺: @KSL5TV
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It’s understandable for BYU fans to be frustrated. They’ve waited nearly a decade for the Irish to come west and face BYU. Cougar fans had hoped it would be Provo, but Las Vegas was a nice consolation if it turned into a neutral setting.

Anyone following this close knew it would be a Notre Dame-controlled event once it became a Shamrock Series game on NBC. However, the idea of an actual neutral setting went out at that moment.

But how much control would Notre Dame have on tickets? That was always the question that needed answers. Then details began coming out last week.

BYU/Notre Dame tickets are going to be a hot item

BYU isn’t revealing the total tickets they will have access to for this game. But we know that overall ticket availability for BYU fans will be less than last year’s neutral game against Arizona in Allegiant Stadium.

So if you’re a Cougar fan thinking that you can bounce over to the opposing team’s ticket office sales like many did last season against the Wildcats. That’s not going to be an option this time around. Notre Dame is making Shamrock Series tickets available to its season ticket holders plus a lottery to see the Irish play their first-ever game in the state of Nevada.

BYU Deputy Athletic Director Brian Santiago was on BYUtv Monday to explain the ticket situation for the October showdown against the Irish.

“You know I’d love to give you an exact number,” said Santiago to BYUtv when asked how many tickets BYU will have access to for the Notre Dame game. “We have a limited number of tickets. They’ve given us some sections to work from. And what we’re going to do is we’re going to put them on sale by priority.”

BYU’s official ticket office begins sales on Tuesday, July 19, with a set purchasing schedule based on an individual’s Cougar Club Level. It starts at the highest level, the Athletic Director’s Circle, at 10 a.m. (MT) on Tuesday and runs to Thursday, July 21 at 2 p.m. If tickets still remain, the rest will be available to the general public on Friday, July 22, on BYUtickets.com.

“One thing that’s super important for Cougar fans to know is that Notre Dame controls the ticket price. So the ticket pricing is pretty aggressive,” said Santiago.

Ticket prices begin at $95 and go as high as $400-$500 in the lower sections. Those prices apply to both fan bases.

"It's actually very beneficial financially for us to play this game in Las Vegas… in our estimation it is kind of a double benefit for us"

Brian Santiago explains the win-win nature of this game with Notre Dame.#BYUFOOTBALL | #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/k0LIwPYm9z

— BYU Sports Nation (@BYUSportsNation) July 18, 2022

“Double Benefit”

Santiago, who has been the Deputy AD since 2017, was also asked by BYUtv’s Dave McCann if Notre Dame would pay BYU to come to play in Vegas since it’s considered a Notre Dame home game.

“Dave, affirmative. It’s actually very beneficial for us financially to play this game in Las Vegas. Notre Dame has been very generous to us, and we’re getting the game,” Santiago said. “… In our estimation, it is kind of a double benefit for us. Financially very viable for us to go play the game, Notre Dame very generous, and we’re actually playing the game in a place where we’re very comfortable playing.”

BYU takes on Notre Dame on Saturday, October 8 at 5:30 p.m. (MT) on KSL 5 TV and KSL NewsRadio, your legacy home of the BYU Cougars. Notre Dame leads the all-time series against BYU 6-2, with the last meeting taking place at South Bend in 2013.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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