I Went to My Alma Mater’s Postseason Football Game and This Is What It Cost

Earlier this year, my family and I planned a trip to Nashville to see Auburn University play a postseason football game against the University of Maryland in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.

Though I’ve graduated and moved on to a professional career, my love for my alma mater hasn’t wavered. I am a second-generation graduate of Auburn University, and I’ve been attending Auburn football games with my family for over 20 years now. I was a member of the Auburn marching band, so regardless of the football team’s record, the opportunity to spend just one more game in the stands with fellow alumni and fans is hard to pass up. There is a certain level of camaraderie that exists among sports fans and that experience isn’t quite as impactful when watching a game on TV.

My travel party consisted of myself, my husband, and my parents. My mom and my husband are also Auburn alums, and we’ve been attending games together for over 10 years. We haven’t been able to attend every single game, but I would estimate that in that time I’ve been to over 60 games. Some are better than others. Several years ago, we had been to a postseason game in Nashville, and we did not have fond memories of that experience. The weather was downright brutal during that first postseason game, and the stadium was much less organized and clean than it is today. Determined to make new, happier memories this time, we began planning as soon as it was announced where our alma mater’s team would be playing their 2024 postseason game.

Spoiler alert: Auburn did not win the football game, which somewhat dampened the experience, but this is the risk you take when you build a trip around an experience like this, and we didn’t let the loss completely ruin our weekend. As a regular sporting event attendee, I wouldn’t let a win or loss influence my desire to experience a postseason game. The ability to explore a different city and different venue while seeing your favorite team in action is all part of the fun.

About the traveler

Job: Freelance writer and published author
Annual salary: $20,000-$40,000 per year
Location of residence: Birmingham, Alabama
Age: 37

About the vacation

Where: Nashville, Tennessee
How long: 48 hours
Planned budget: $2,000

Upfront costs

Travel: $50. My family lives in Birmingham, Alabama, and my parents live in Opelika, Alabama, which is a neighboring town of Auburn. It takes my parents just under two hours to drive to Birmingham, and the drive to Nashville is between three and four hours, depending on traffic. We drive from Birmingham to Opelika regularly in the fall for home football games, so we decided to share a ride with my parents to save a little on fuel costs (and it never hurts to have extra drivers when someone gets tired). We also had to pre-pay for parking at the hotel, which was $25 per night.

Hotels/lodging: $467. We chose a hotel within walking distance of Nissan Stadium so we could save on extra parking costs. We secured two rooms at the hotel, and we picked a hotel with breakfast included to stretch that part of the budget further.

Tickets: $560. Tickets for college football games are not cheap, and bowl games or postseason game tickets can be even pricier. My parents have been longtime supporters of the athletic programs at Auburn University, so we were able to get game tickets for $140 each for the four of us.

Relevant prior expenses: $540. Because of my parent’s support for the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) initiative, which supports Auburn student-athletes, we were able to purchase tickets for an “opening night” supporter event at Nashville’s popular Wildhorse Saloon. The event began at 6:30 pm and went until midnight. Tickets included a buffet meal, late night snacks, two drink tickets, a pep rally with band members, cheerleaders, and our mascot, as well as appearances by coaches and other important Auburn figures, and, of course, line dancing lessons.