The Aviva Stadium is the place to be this August!
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American football is coming back to Ireland’s capital later this year.
And while the big, big one will see the Pittsburgh Steelers come to Croke Park for the first-ever regular season NFL game in the country, tickets for that event will be like gold dust.
But fear not because you can get tickets for the huge Big 12 matchup between Kansas State and Iowa State at the Aviva Stadium in the latest edition of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
The Big 12 Conference is part of the NCAA Division I – with teams aiming for a place in the 2025-26 playoffs – where the very best teams in college football will battle it out for the title, and players will look to put themselves in the shop window for the NFL draft.
Kansas State vs Iowa State will kick off Big 12 and NCAA season in Week Zero on August 23 in Dublin, with the two teams part of a fierce rivalry known as Farmageddon.
Last year’s Aer Lingus Classic between Georgia Tech and Florida State was a sell-out on a sunny day at the Aviva Stadium, so be sure to get your tickets quick.
They are currently on sale at Ticketmaster for as low as €80, with VIP packages also available.
Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman recently said: “That makes it more unique for us. Iowa State and Kansas State have played some great games. It’s a great way to start off Big 12 play.
“It’s going to change the way we prepare. It will hit us more when we leave, losing a day. For us, it’s about navigating hydration, nutrition, and sleep leading up to leaving on the Wednesday and playing on the Saturday.
“We have to work on how fresh we can get our guys. The week prior to that will be really important to make sure their bodies and minds are as fresh as they can be. It will take a toll on both teams. It’s about fighting adversity. That’s college football, the team that can handle it best will win.
“Football players are creatures of habit. A lot of our routines will be thrown off, like shortening both summer vacation and summer workouts.
“It was part of our pitch. Only a handful of schools get to do this. We didn’t know about it until May of last year and our biggest high school recruiting time was that June. We sold the heck out of it.
“I told my athletic director that we’re bringing everybody. I’m not interested in bringing a travel squad of 70 players. If we’ve got 105 or 120 players on our roster, whoever is on the football team is going to have the opportunity to come and experience this.”
