Pitt isn't known for a large traveling fan base when it comes to bowls. Call it apathy, call it whatever you want, but Pitt just doesn't usually sell many tickets.
That case isn't changing this year with Pitt taking on SMU in the BBVA Compass Bowl. Ticket sales have been, as expected, slow.
ESPN.com's Andrea Adelson has a breakdown of ticket sales among the Big East and Pitt is at the bottom of the bowl teams. While Louisville, Rutgers, and Cincinnati have each sold approximately 10,000 tickets, West Virginia's been a bit down with only about 6,000 sold. But Pitt falls far short of them all with about 2,000 tickets 'out' according to Adelson. That's curious language and not sure if it means they gave away a chunk of them. In any event, that's just not real good. I remember Brian Bennett doing a similar thing last year with that type of language, so I have a question as to if those are actually tickets sold.
It's also part of the reason Pitt can get passed over for better bowls even if they appear higher in the standings. The team simply doesn't travel well.
Part of this year's troubles probably also stems from the fact the Pitt was just in the game last year. But the funny thing is that Pitt is actually pretty close to last year's amount, which was reportedly 2,500.
Adelson points out that the sales only include those sold through the school (not those sold through third parties, etc.) and while that's true, it's true for all the Big East schools ... ergo, the rest of the conference is still probably crushing Pitt when it comes to sales.