Pitt has officially broken its all-time record for football season tickets sold, athletic director Scott Barnes announced Saturday via Twitter.
Congrats Panther Nation for eclipsing the all-time football season ticket record with over 53,775 #H2P #NotDoneYet pic.twitter.com/vOnlEvtRNI
— Scott Barnes (@BeaverAD) August 6, 2016
The school has sold over 53,775 season tickets for the Panthers’ upcoming football season, surpassing the previous record set in 2003 –– and achieving the goal Barnes set out for the program in February.
“Our goal is to set an all-time record for season tickets at Heinz Field,” Barnes told the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette. “You sometimes are challenged when you come out with a goal and you don’t meet the goal. We feel really comfortable in stating this.”
Saturday’s milestone comes almost two months to the day Pitt’s athletic department sent out a letter –– signed by Barnes and head football coach Pat Narduzzi –– announcing 93 percent of season-ticket holders had renewed their subscriptions for the upcoming season, along with almost 10,000 new season tickets sold.
The letter correctly projected the record would be broken in August, when the majority of undergraduate student ticket purchases occur.
The Panthers begin training camp Monday, Aug. 8, with less than a month remaining before the season-opener vs. Villanova at Heinz Field Saturday, Sept. 3, at 1:30 p.m.