Guess I Should Have Written Bigger Checks

[StillAWarrior]

No tickets from Marquette.  Damn.

I'm very thankful I've got one for myself through another source, but I really wanted to take my son.

Did anyone get tickets from Marquette?  Any idea how many they had?

[wardle2wade]

No tickets from Marquette.  Damn.

I'm very thankful I've got one for myself through another source, but I really wanted to take my son.

Did anyone get tickets from Marquette?  Any idea how many they had?

Did you sign-up during the initial sign-up period, or did you request them after the bracket? 

I thought I read somewhere that each school allotment is 550 tickets for the NCAA's.  No idea if that is true.

[wadesworld]

My friend got us tickets through Marquette.  Not sure how many they had though.

[mu_hilltopper]

MU is the 3rd game in Cleveland.  All you need to do is sit out front of the arena after the 1st and 2nd games, and some of the crowd will be fans of losing teams, looking to dump their tickets to the remaining sessions.

[AlienWarrior]

The alum tickets suck anyway. Just wait 'till the last minute before the game either at the arena or find a local ticket agency for cheaper seats

[79Warrior]

MU is the 3rd game in Cleveland.  All you need to do is sit out front of the arena after the 1st and 2nd games, and some of the crowd will be fans of losing teams, looking to dump their tickets to the remaining sessions.

Wrong. There are two sessions, two games each.

[wardle2wade]

The alum tickets suck anyway. Just wait 'till the last minute before the game either at the arena or find a local ticket agency for cheaper seats

Have you ever sat in the NCAA allotment? They're always sideline lowers for face.  As a season ticket holder for less than 10yrs, I don't think I've ever got put farther back than 15th row... and I'm very far from being a major donor.

[StillAWarrior]

Did you sign-up during the initial sign-up period, or did you request them after the bracket? 

I thought I read somewhere that each school allotment is 550 tickets for the NCAA's.  No idea if that is true.

I live in Cleveland, and I can't travel for the games due to work/family considerations (unless the games are fairly nearby), so I didn't sign up until after the bracket was announced.

[Skatastrophy]

Wrong. There are two sessions, two games each.

Right... and a lot of people have tickets to all sessions.  So if your team loses the 1st session then they're oftentimes looking to unload their remaining tickets.

[Carl Spackler]

Right... and a lot of people have tickets to all sessions.  So if your team loses the 1st session then they're oftentimes looking to unload their remaining tickets.

For example, me and my dad in 2002 after the Tulsa debacle.  sold our remaining ticks to some Kansas fans on our way out of the dome.  cancelled our hotel room for the wknd.  drove back to milwaukee.  12 hours in the car that day.  4 hours in StL.

[NavinRJohnson]

Right... and a lot of people have tickets to all sessions.  So if your team loses the 1st session then they're oftentimes looking to unload their remaining tickets.

Exactly right. Especially with OSU playing in the first session, there are going to be tons of tickets to be had. Wait outside, or pick some up in a bar between sessions. Now, the third session on Sunday with all those OSU fans, may be another story.

[MUBurrow]

I'm glad to hear all this. It looks like I'm heading down with another 3 people without tickets, so we'll just have to get there awhile before the first session ends.  A couple technical questions for anyone who has been there - do I have to worry about re-entry issues if I buy off a fan from Session 1?  Do they issue separate session tickets, or just one ticket to get you into both?

[Benny B]

The alum tickets suck anyway. Just wait 'till the last minute before the game either at the arena or find a local ticket agency for cheaper seats

In my experience, the university allotment (alum & students) are typically the best tickets available to the public (although usually alums and students scoop up all the tickets before they get to the school box office).

In 2003, student tickets (some alums and parents as well) were right underneath the hoop vs. Kentucky.  In Indianapolis, we were something like 12 or 13 rows off the floor, top of the key on Saturday (I was actually in ND's allotment for the Saturday game, see the next paragraph).  In 2007, I was in the last row of MU's allotment and was still less than 20 rows off the court in Winston-Salem, middle of the lane.

Even if you can't get in on MU's allotment, there's still a tried and true method to get great seats that veteran fans have used for years... if you're in the second game of the session: buy an upper level ticket on the cheap, and about 5 minutes before the end of the first game, go stand in the tunnel near the section you want to be in, and offer fans of the losing team a nominal sum for their ticket stubs.  Sometimes you can get them for $5 (I lucked out and had an ND fan give me his five stubs for free), but be prepared to pay more if there's competition.  After the game vs. Michigan St. in Winston-Salem, I had no less than a dozen people ask me for my ticket stub, I was offered $10 for my ticket stub just outside of the tunnel, another offered $15, and while I was purchasing a souvenir t-shirt near the exit for me and my nephew, some guy offered to buy both t-shirts for me (nearly $30) for my single ticket stub.

Another method - although I've never tried it myself - is if you're in a pod with an AQ from a low-major conference, try to land tickets through their AD.  Schools like UC Santa Barbara aren't going to have much of a following in Tampa, so their AD may offer what's left over of their allotment to the general public (or they might just return them to the NCAA... who knows).  They may be wary of fans from other teams, however, so don't be surprised if you encounter some resistance when ordering and/or when picking up your tickets.

If you do decide to try calling the Indiana St. ticket office, tell them you're from French Lick.

[Litehouse]

I'm glad to hear all this. It looks like I'm heading down with another 3 people without tickets, so we'll just have to get there awhile before the first session ends.  A couple technical questions for anyone who has been there - do I have to worry about re-entry issues if I buy off a fan from Session 1?  Do they issue separate session tickets, or just one ticket to get you into both?

Separate tickets for each session.

[wadesworld]

Our tickets are at Will Call so we don't know where they are.  Is this how they typically do it for the NCAA Tournament games?  I would guess not...that could make for a very crowded Will Call if everyone has theirs waiting there for them.

[zrjones13]

Our tickets are at Will Call so we don't know where they are.  Is this how they typically do it for the NCAA Tournament games?  I would guess not...that could make for a very crowded Will Call if everyone has theirs waiting there for them.

For the CBE classic in kansas city they had 4 seperate will calls for each of the teams playing.  We didn't even have to wait in line.  I'm going to the NCAA tournament too for the first time, but I'm assuming they probably do it the same way.

[Litehouse]

Our tickets are at Will Call so we don't know where they are.  Is this how they typically do it for the NCAA Tournament games?  I would guess not...that could make for a very crowded Will Call if everyone has theirs waiting there for them.

The will-call issue can definitely be a problem, I'd recommend getting there early.  The line in Winston-Salem a few years ago was huge, spent 30 minutes waiting in line and almost missed our craptacular 0-10 start, or whatever it was.  If you're able to get there really early, MU usually has some type of reception at the designated hotel, and the will-call tickets are there until the ticket people pack up and head over to the arena.  Hardly any line and you can enjoy a beer while you get your ticets.

[StillAWarrior]

If you're able to get there really early, MU usually has some type of reception at the designated hotel, and the will-call tickets are there until the ticket people pack up and head over to the arena.  Hardly any line and you can enjoy a beer while you get your ticets.

I don't know anything about whether they will have the will-call tickets at the reception, but here is what I received today about the reception:

Crowne Plaza Hotel – Cleveland City Centre
777 St. Clair Avenue, Cleveland
The receptions will take place in the Fuldheim Ballroom located on the lobby level of the hotel.
5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Pregame reception
Don't miss the team send-off at approximately 5:30 p.m. (Please note that the send-off could
occur earlier depending on the team's schedule.)
Transportation: Shuttle service will be available from the Crowne Plaza Hotel to the Quicken
Loans Arena. The Quicken Loans Arena is also within walking distance of the hotel (less than one
mile, approximately 15 minutes walking).

[habanero6]

I think it's a shame w/ today's technology that they won't allow tickets to be electronically distributed/downloaded.  I requested tix through MU weeks ago but something came up at work this week, so my wife and I went to the Big East Tournament instead.    Can't use the CLE tix and neither can any other MU fan because I can't get to CLE to pick them up and name changes aren't allowed.  Not pissed about losing the $ on the tix, things like this happen,  but I'm angry because I can't get them to other MU fans to use.

[StillAWarrior]

I might get my son into the game yet...and all because of the arrogance of a Xavier fan.  One of they guys I was planning to go to the games with (before we even knew who was coming to Cleveland) is a Xavier grad,.  He's so sure that Xavier is going to kill Marquette that he said he's willing to give his ticket Friday to my son and just wait until Sunday to watch them play.

That would make a Marquette win three times as sweet:  1) a win; 2) watching it with my son; and 3) seeing the cockiness of a Xavier fan come back and bite him in the ass.

I hope this all works out.

[mu35577]

Our tickets are at Will Call so we don't know where they are.  Is this how they typically do it for the NCAA Tournament games?  I would guess not...that could make for a very crowded Will Call if everyone has theirs waiting there for them.

4 seperate will calls. one for each team. Shouldnt be too much of a problem. Just get there a little early.

[warthog-driver]

2002 after the Tulsa debacle

Another of The Bronzed Beast's Bright and Shing Moments...

[Benny B]

I think it's a shame w/ today's technology that they won't allow tickets to be electronically distributed/downloaded.  I requested tix through MU weeks ago but something came up at work this week, so my wife and I went to the Big East Tournament instead.   

The reason that Marquette does this (as do most schools) is to prevent the team's allocation from being sold on the secondary market.  The NCAA may even have a say in this... not entirely sure.  Believe me... even Marquette fans would sell their own seats to a Badger fan if the price was right.  So then what's the point in allocating a certain number of tickets to the universities if their fans are going to turn around and sell them to fans of the opposing team?

But as I said earlier, some schools without much of a following may be willing to sell their tickets to the general public, but you probably still have to pick them up at will call...

Can't use the CLE tix and neither can any other MU fan because I can't get to CLE to pick them up and name changes aren't allowed.  Not pissed about losing the $ on the tix, things like this happen,  but I'm angry because I can't get them to other MU fans to use.

All you need to do is call the MU ticket office... they'll ensure your ticket goes to another Marquette fan.

[martyconlonontherun]

The reason that Marquette does this (as do most schools) is to prevent the team's allocation from being sold on the secondary market.  The NCAA may even have a say in this... not entirely sure.  Believe me... even Marquette fans would sell their own seats to a Badger fan if the price was right.  So then what's the point in allocating a certain number of tickets to the universities if their fans are going to turn around and sell them to fans of the opposing team?

But as I said earlier, some schools without much of a following may be willing to sell their tickets to the general public, but you probably still have to pick them up at will call...

All you need to do is call the MU ticket office... they'll ensure your ticket goes to another Marquette fan.

Exactly, remember the big controversy over students selling Rose Bowl tickets? People will complain if you have too many restrictions, but also complain if you don't have enough. Can't make everyone happy.