Renovations at Dolphin Stadium...

Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida, home of the 2009 BCS National Championship Game, is currently undergoing major renovations that will make it one of the most attractive venues in the country. Among the additions is 360,000 feet of enclosed space, more restaurants and concession stands, and new sit-down restaurants and other gathering places for fans.

There will also be new interactive exhibits as well as an upgrade to the luxury boxes. Flat-screen hi-definition monitors will be placed throughout Dolphin Stadium, and all of these attractions follow the opening of the all-new Club Level just a year ago in 2007.

(Pictured: A rendering of the changes to Dolpin Stadium. Photo courtesy dolphinsstadium.com)

Another pre-preseason top 25...

We're still nearly seven months away from the start of the 2009 college football season, but there is yet another pre-preseason top 25 poll out for the upcoming campaign. SouthernCollegeSports.com has released its ultra-early ranking, placing the Georgia Bulldogs atop its poll, commenting that the Bulldogs "return tons of talent on both sides of the ball."

Here's a complete top ten run-down:

1. Georgia Bulldogs
2. USC Trojans
3. Florida Gators
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Oklahoma Sooners
6. Missouri Tigers
7. Auburn Tigers
8. LSU Tigers
9. Clemson Tigers
10. Kansas Jayhawks
Complete Poll: SouthernCollegeSports.com

Pre-preseason polls already out...

Scout.com is one of several well-known websites who has already released a pre-preseason top 25 ranking for next fall's college football season. So who do the so-called experts believe has the best chance to make their way to Miami and Dolphin Stadium for the 2009 BCS Championship Game?

According to CollegeFootballNews.com, part of the Scout network, this past year's runner-up, the Ohio State Buckeyes will lead the way next season while defending champion LSU comes in at number six.

Here's a complete look at the CFN top ten:

1. Ohio State Buckeyes
2. Georgia Bulldogs
3. Oklahoma Sooners
4. Florida Gators
5. USC Trojans
6. Oklahoma Sooners
7. Wisconson Badgers
8. Missouri Tigers
9. West Virginia Mountaineers
10. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Source: CFN.scout.com

The Big XII leads the way with four teams among the top ten, while the Big Ten and SEC place two teams each among the top ten. Meanwhile, the Pac-10 and Big East had one team each.

Tickets hard to come by, and expensive too

With the 2009 BCS Championship Game set to take place in Miami on January 8, many of the biggest college football fans are already looking to get their hands on tickets for the national title game. Though the tickets for this past year's BCS Title Game between LSU and Ohio State had face values of under $300, the street value on site in New Orleans was much higher for those without tickets already in hand.

A scalper standing just northwest of the Superdome on Poydras said the tickets he found were too expensive for him to buy for resale. He said others were offering him upper-level tickets for $700 each, and he was looking to buy tickets for closer to $300.

The highest reported price came from a scalper standing at a corner of Tulane Avenue and LaSalle. He said he had just sold a pair of lower-level tickets for $2,200, and he was about to acquire a pair of lower-level tickets that he was ready to sell for $1,500.

-Nola.com

A small portion of each year's seats are provided to the general public before the college football regular season even begins. A majority of the tickets are then handed out to corporate sponsors, with the remaining allotment dished out between the two participating schools. That number, though, is not nearly enough to accomodate the number of fans who want to travel to see their team play.

LSU, for example, was given just 16,000 tickets for this past year's championship game, and that fanbase packs over 90,000 into Tiger Stadium for each and every home game.

The lesson? Get your tickets ahead of time, if possible, or expect to pay even higher prices on the streets once gameday rolls around.