ÎZoo' members can buy tourney tickets Monday

Early birds with Zona Zoo passes will get a chance to purchase NCAA men's basketball tournament tickets starting next week.

NCAA student tickets for the first and second rounds of the tournament will be sold via a "phone lottery" beginning at 7 a.m. Monday.

Tickets for other rounds will be sold every Monday for the next three weekends.

There will be 22 student tickets for the first and second rounds, 192 for the regionals and 500 for the Final Four. Where the UA will play will be determined Sunday when the NCAA tournament brackets are announced. Ticket prices range from $10 to $150 depending on location.

This time, in order to purchase student tickets, a fan must be a student. James Francis, director of marketing for the athletic department, said the ticket office would verify the caller's status by using their CatCard number.

Because of the need to quickly sell the tickets and get them to students, the phone lottery was the best option, Francis said.

Peter Wand, Associated Students of the University of Arizona spirit director, said there wasn't enough manpower to allow students to line up for the tickets.

"As much as we would love to have a lineup and reward those fans who can line up early and get out of bed early ÷ and I would definitely want to reward them ÷ it is just a little tough for us with the man power to get those police officers out there and to control the situation," Wand said.

In October 2002, police broke up a riot outside the McKale Center after students lined up to purchase tickets for the then preseason-No. 1 Wildcats.

Students must have joined the Zona Zoo by Sept. 12, 2003, to be eligible for the tickets. Eligible students should call 621-CATS or (800) 452-CATS.

Fans can also buy seats outside the UA's section for each round by visiting ncaasports.com/basketball/mens.