Once again, Clemson has set a record when it comes to season-ticket sales.

Graham Neff, Clemson’s Deputy Athletic Director, told The Clemson Insider the athletic department sold a record 59,340 season tickets for the 2019 football season.

As TCI reported last week, Clemson has officially sold out the Texas A&M game for Sept. 7 at Memorial Stadium and the Charlotte game for Sept. 21.

However, the Tigers are still short of selling out their season opener against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29. However, Clemson expects about 80,000 in attendance for the game. Clemson still has just under 2,000 tickets available for the Georgia Tech game.

“It is a Thursday, which it is difficult for us,” Neff said. “Geographically, we have folks in the Low Country and stuff, so Thursday is tough. We have a good amount of Georgia Tech tickets left.”

It’s the same for the Florida State game on Oct. 12. There are tickets remaining for the Boston College (Oct. 26), Wofford (Nov. 2) and Wake Forest (Nov. 16) games as well.

Clemson has not reached maximum capacity for all seven of its home games since the 2015 season, when it averaged 84,038 fans per game, which is a Clemson record. Last year, Clemson averaged 80,400 fans per game during its run to a second national championship in three years.

Starting in 2012, Clemson’s attendance has surpassed 80,000 every year, the longest stretch in the history of Memorial Stadium. In fact, since Clemson’s attendance increased to more than 80,000 in 1983, capacity eclipsed more than 80,000 per game just four times prior to 2012.

And though Clemson continues to set season ticket sales, its average attendance per game at Death Valley has declined in each of the last three seasons. In 2016, it averaged 80,970 and in 2017 it dropped slightly to 80,773. In 2018, Clemson reported its average attendance at 80,400.

Why has home attendance dropped the last three years and why didn’t Clemson sell out a single game last season?

A lot of it is due to the number of visiting tickets that are sold. Per its agreement with South Carolina, which plays at Death Valley in even number years, Clemson has to allocate 7,000 seats for the visiting team.

The ACC sets visiting teams’ allotments at 4,300. On years the Tigers don’t play South Carolina at home, those tickets are sold as non-renewable season tickets or as single-game tickets.

Texas A&M sold out its allotted tickets and is expected to bring about 5,000 fans to Death Valley in a few weeks. The remaining tickets were sold as non-renewable season tickets or single-game tickets. Charlotte is sold out because its parents’ weekend and Clemson fans scooped up the remaining single-game tickets available.

Neff told TCI, Florida State returned more than 2,000 of its allotted tickets which is why that game still has tickets available. In years past, FSU has always sold all of its allocated tickets.

“Hopefully, our folks will buy them up. But, as we sit here today, you can call up here and get a Florida State ticket because Florida State is not using them,” he said.

Here is a breakdown of how Clemson distributes its tickets. Memorial Stadium, which opened in 1942, officially seats 81,500 spectators.

2019 Memorial Stadium seat allotments:

Season Tickets: 59,340

Student Tickets: 10,000

• 5,100 tickets sold to students through IPTAY’s Collegiate Club (guarantees ticket in lower bowl or upper deck)
• 4,900 tickets are available to the students for free which are located on the hill or upper deck

Comp tickets (players families/staff): 3,000

Visiting Team Tickets: 7,000

• 4,300 go to ACC teams each year
• 2,700 go to non-renewable season ticket/single game tickets

General Admission: 2,200