Husker football will celebrate 400th consecutive sellout Friday night
By Aaron Bonderson 
, Reporter/Producer Nebraska Public Media
Sept. 20, 2024, 5 a.m. ·
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Since 1962, Husker fans have purchased every ticket for every home football game.
Friday will mark the 400th consecutive sellout at Memorial Stadium, and one of the most monumental games in recent memory.
Since 2014, the Husker have not played a ranked team in Memorial Stadium while being ranked themselves. That will change Friday night. Nebraska and Illinois meet ranked 22 and 24, respectively, in the Associated Press Poll.
Mike’l Severe is the host of the weekly football show Big Red Wrap-Up on Nebraska Public Media.
The last ranked versus ranked matchup in Memorial Stadium was Nebraska versus Minnesota in November of 2014, Severe said. Both of those teams were ranked in the College Football Playoff top 25.
The sellout streak is symbolic, he added.
“It's more than just you're selling the tickets, really. In my opinion, it's more about what this team and school and everything means to the state. It's such a part of the identity,” Severe said. “And for the team to both be good right now and on an uptrend and to be celebrating this together, it's pretty monumental, I think.”
The excitement around Husker football right now is similar to the 2009-2010 seasons, he said. Nebraska played in the conference championship game and lost close games in each of those seasons.
Looking at the matchup Friday, the Illinois contest is even more important than the Colorado rivalry, Severe said. That’s because beating Illinois would increase the chances of Nebraska winning the conference title.
“It means a lot, not just the 400th sellout, but the fact that it's on FOX. The nation's going to be watching it,” Severe said. “They're going to be hearing about this Nebraska team, hearing more about the freshman that everybody's talking about in Dylan Raiola. It's huge.”
Across the country, other schools have lost their streaks in recent history, but Nebraska has continued selling out games, Severe said.
“I love running into people who tell me that their great grandfather or great grandmother had the same tickets they're sitting in, and they've just had them since before the sellout streak started,” Severe said. “It's incredible the way it's been handed down as a family tradition, too.”
Selling out this many games is an amazing achievement, he said.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.