UA gives ticket priority to contributors

Although each school participating in the Final Four was given a total of 3,500 tickets for the tournament, the University of Arizona allocated only 350 tickets to students, the smallest allotment of student tickets at any of the schools participating. An other 2,150 tickets went to Athletic Department contributors.

The Kentucky Wildcats led the Final Four teams in student ticket allotments with 1,000 of their 3,500 going to Kentucky students, said Gary Wulf, associate news editor of the Kentucky Kernal.

The University of North Carolina made 400 tickets available to its students according to a ticket office representative at UNC.

The University of Minnesota sold 631 tickets to students, all of whom were regular season ticket holders for men's basketball, said Dan Teschke, assistant ticket manager for the University of Minnesota Athletic Department.

"An application (for tickets) was sent to all season tickets holders and, of those, 631 students returned their applications. All of those students were eligible to purchase tickets," Teschke said.

The UA Athletic Department held a lottery for the student allotment of tickets, said Butch Henry, associate athletic director for media and internal services.

When the Final Four ticket lottery results were posted, 175 students were eligible to purchase up to two tickets each. The number of students who entered the lottery was unknown.

"I guess I was just lucky enough to get tickets to the Final Four," said Garrett Horrocks, a sophomore majoring in sociology and Spanish. "It's not fair, but that is the way that UA does it. What can you do?"

"I guess we (UA student fans) will just have to yell a little louder," Horrocks said.

The UA gave 1,000 tickets to the team, cheerleaders, coaches, band members and other individuals affiliated with the Athletic Department, Henry said.

The remaining 2,150 tickets were allotted to members of the Wildcat Club, an organization of contributors who earn priority points by giving donations to the Athletic Department. Long-term men's basketball season ticket holders are also eligible to earn p riority points and become members of the Wildcat Club.

Wildcat Club members with fewer than 200 priority points were not eligible to purchase Final Four tickets.

"Wildcat Club priority is determined by how long a person has been a season ticket holder and the amount of money that they have donated to the Athletic Department," said Henry.

Students and other fans of the men's basketball team are not pleased by the division of Final Four tickets and regular season tickets.

"I've noticed that there are no students there (at basketball games). I think it's horrible," said Sky Christopherson, a psychology freshman.

Jerrie Bieberstein, Math Department office specialist and Wildcat basketball fan, has held a pair of season tickets for over 10 years, yet was not eligible to purchase Final Four tickets because she and her husband are not Wildcat Club members.

"I don't think it (the division of tickets) should be totally based on your economic status," Bieberstein said.

One individual who advertised Final Four tickets in the Arizona Daily Wildcat is asking $1,600 for two tickets in Row 15.

"I figured we couldn't get tickets even if we wanted them," Bieberstein said.