What will it cost to see Notre Dame in Miami?

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Now that Notre Dame's championship bid is official, thousands of fans are trying to get tickets to the game in Miami. ABC57 wanted to know how much it will cost to get tickets – and then get to Miami.

The Fighting Irish spent 12 weeks competing for a ticket to Miami and now their fans must do the same.

"I know a ton of my friends are doing anything they can to get down there just cause it's a once in a lifetime opportunity especially if you're a senior,” said James Woodruff, a senior at Notre Dame.

Getting down there certainly won't be easy.

According to Tom Edgerton of Edgerton's Travel, most plane tickets from South Bend to Miami are sold out.

Flights from Indianapolis and Chicago are limited to red eyes with prices well above $900.

To drive, aside from 1,300 miles and 20 hours in the car, it will still cost you a pretty penny.

“If you have a car that gets any kind of decent mileage you could get down there for about $100 or so. But that's not so much the issue as getting a hold of a game ticket,” said Edgerton.

That's where Josh Berlo comes in.

As the assistant athletic director, he's in charge of distributing Notre Dame's allotted tickets.

"We've been very busy the last week, Notre Dame will receive an allotted 17,000 tickets. We estimate our demand is well above 100,000,” said Berlo.

Of those tickets, 2,500 will be distributed to students through a lottery system.

Those students lucky enough to be selected in the lottery will still have to pay $150 a ticket.

Notre Dame's remaining 14,500 are also put into a lottery system for faculty, alumni and donors. Those lottery winners will pay $350.

For your average fan with no ties to the university, tickets are selling for $1,400.

"Anybody that wants to pay that kind of money can get it done. They are probably going to be in the neighborhood of $4,000 a person,” said Edgerton.

But for some dedicated fans like Woodruff, cheering for Notre Dame doesn't require a ticket at all.

"Yes I'm going down there no matter what. I might be sitting in a bar, I might be in a hotel room watching the game but hopefully I'll find a way into the stadium and see Notre Dame beat Alabama,” said Woodruff.

Edgerton's Travel estimates that two people could probably drive straight through and stay in Miami, without game tickets, for as little as $1,000.