Ticket sales remain brisk for Las Vegas bowl

The MAACO Bowl Las Vegas is finding it can thrive without Brigham Young.

Having Boise State in the game, of course, doesn't hurt.

The Dec. 22 matchup between the 10th-ranked Broncos and No. 20 Utah has created brisk ticket sales.

"I don't want to jinx it, but we're hoping to be sold out in the next few days," bowl executive director Tina Kunzer-Murphy said Thursday.

Only 500 of the roughly 15,000 tickets available to the public remain for the game, to be played at 36,800-seat Sam Boyd Stadium. Those tickets have been on sale since July 1.

Each team has sold a little more than 7,000 tickets to its fans. Boise State has had 10,000 tickets to sell, and Utah has had 11,000.

The bowl previously relied on BYU's rabid fans to drive business. The Cougars appeared in the previous five Las Vegas bowls, and all were sellouts, including last year's 44-20 BYU victory over Oregon State.

With independent-bound BYU out of the mix this season -- and probably next year and beyond -- the bowl is learning to live without the Cougars.

Now the bowl would like to make an annual habit of inviting Boise State. The Broncos, who will be the highest-ranked team to appear in the 19-year-old game, join the Mountain West Conference next season.

Utah will play its final game as a Mountain West member before entering the new Pac-12.

So there are reasons for fan interest in both teams.

"I think it's more than we hoped it would be," Kunzer-Murphy said. "We have two great football programs and two great traveling teams.

"We're very, very lucky."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.