The Vanderbilt Commodores had never beaten the nation’s top-ranked team in the modern era of college football. It had been 40 years since they’d beaten Alabama, period.
But quarterback Diego Pavia and a hyperactive defense did just that Saturday, stifling the then-No. 1 Crimson Tide in a 40-35 win at home. It was such a monumental upset Vandy fans and students not only tore down their goalposts but got a police escort for the nearly three-mile march from campus to downtown Nashville. There, the equipment was summarily dunked into the Cumberland River as a raucous crowd celebrated.
The goalposts were later retrieved and returned to the university. Now, pieces of the discarded delineations between field goals and failure are on sale. Vanderbilt fans and alumni can now own a piece of last week’s historic upset.
For just $1,005.
update: i will not be purchasing the vandy-alabama goalpost pic.twitter.com/nhnCQZV3V4
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 7, 2024
A four-inch piece of the waterlogged posts would have run you $1,005 at the school’s live online auction. Eight-inch pieces wound up selling for $4,035. As of publication time, both auctions are sold out. Thrifty shoppers can put in bids for the end zone pylons, which currently range in price from $1,300 to $1,500. Game balls range from $4,600 to $6,800 while the price for a custom gameday helmet is already up to $31,000 with three days remaining.
That isn’t the only way Vandy is trying to monetize a literally unprecedented victory. When the clock struck zero Saturday night, staffers inside the university’s development office got to work thinking up potential donation amounts.
Vanderbilt is doing everything they can to cash in on the biggest win in school history: pic.twitter.com/vz8XjcdSS5
— Billy Derrick (@billyderrick10) October 7, 2024
Per sources inside Vanderbilt’s administration who wished to remain anonymous, the past year has been at least mildly difficult from a financial standpoint. The university is dealing with a triple whammy of construction costs, lower-than-expected fundraising turnout and the cost of buying out former basketball coach Jerry Stackhouse’s contract — not to mention a $100,000 fine for storming the field after Saturday’s win.
As such, you can’t blame the Commodores for milking this cow until it’s nothing but skin and bones. And with a wealthy alumni base eager to pay these prices, it’s clear this strategy works.
