FUCK THE "NON-PROFIT" NCAA (big dance ticket lottery rant)

[Screw_Michigan]

this is a rant about 10 months into the making.

anyone who has bought tickets to the ncaa tournament games in the past knows exactly what i'm talking about. last march, my dad and i decided to throw down the cash and buy tickets to the big dance regional at ford field in march. for those who aren't familiar with this process, it goes down like this: you have to "enter the lottery" one year in advance for an opportunity to get tickets to whatever big dance location you choose, be it 1st/2nd rd, regional, or final four, and to enter the lottery, you have to give the ncaa, a multi-BILLION dollar "non-profit" institution, an upfront payment for these tickets. we got the $100 tickets so we (hopefully) wouldn't get stuck in the upper level at ford field.

and you don't find out if you even get the tickets until a month before the event. if you don't win tickets, the ncaa refunds your money. so, in essence, you're giving a multi-BILLION dollar "non-profit" an 11-month, interest-free loan (which they are surely earning interest on) with NO GUARANTEE of getting tickets at all, regardless if you bought the tickets five minutes after they went on sale (as i did).

pops really isn't in tune with this process as much as i am, so he started asking me in november about the tickets. so i called the ford field ticket office (handling all this bullshit), asking about when we would find out about the lottery. i pretty much was told "i don't know, we don't know, we can't help you, wait until january." fine. called the other day and was told the same thing. pissed off, i told the worthless, lazy (race withheld, mv-style) fucks at the ford field ticket office i wanted to speak to a manager so i would know when i would find out about the tickets. she told me i would either receive my tickets or a receipt for the credit card credit at the END OF FEBRUARY! fucking great. it could be worse, the local hotels could be demanding non-refundable deposits on rooms because of the demand and other bullshit, but i guess what chaps my ass the most is that 1) you're giving a multi-BILLION dollar "non-profit" an interest-free loan (which they are earning interest on) and 2) it's irrelevant if you "entered the lottery" the minute the tickets went on sale or waited until the final minute before the final "lottery tickets" were sold, you're in the same fucking bucket of balls as everybody else. god damn it, i woke my ass up at 9 am after seeing an awesome of montreal show in detroit just to enter this god damn lottery and i'm in the same fucking boat as the pole smoking whores who waited until the last minute to purchase their lottery entry. FUCK!

of course, i'm looking forward to this, as it will probably be part of my exit from this fucking shithole known as NO IN, and if michigan state keeps it up, they could very well be playing at ford field in the sweet 16 (not that i'm rooting for them) playing in front of a hostile big 11 crowd. i've been to a big dance game before (western michigan vs. vandy, 1st rd, 04 in orlando), but i've never been to as "big" event like seeing a team cut down the nets after making the final four. but GOD DAMN. fuck you MYLES BRAND and FUCK YOU ncaa.

[/rant]

[SunCoastSooner]

I've been to many a tourny game in my time and never once entered the lotto. Tickets are found at virtually any venue in the first and second rounds. I've pulled floor seats for less than face by waiting until right before tip off to hit up a scalper.

[Adelpiero]

michgan,

it's a gamble on championship tickets. i have enough points that i always get seats, but winning lottery guarentees you you will get fucked.


frozen 4 last year: all lottery winners got bleeders.

when minny and wisky and company got knocked out in regionals, those tickets came back, now public gets to buy lower level seats for same price(minus fee's etc) while i won lottery and waited to get bleeders.

if you wait, u will be paying $$$ if the right teams make it to finals of regional or final. If not, you can get seats for face or less in lower levels.

I said lottery winners should get first choice of upgrading seats that are open to public.


But NCAA doesnt give a flying, they get their $$$$ regardless. they get your $$$ plus 8 months of intrest before they even tell you that you won the lottery for tickets.

it depends on how bad ya want to go!

i luckily had a buddy who is a GM at a pontiac dealership and got me tickets, 3 rows from ice, i gave my 4 seats to Fighting Sioux family for free(even swap for me. bleeders or 3 rows, hum) But those seats could of been gone, had Michigan and wisky make it! Double edged sword that NCAA doesnt care about!


as far as 1st and 2nd round matches. i'd wait. last year, St.Louis regional was a regional nightmare, closest team was Butler. was a ticket nightmare to sell, no teams with big fan bases that travel. Why they didnt have KU and SIU in st.louis was typical NCAA stupidity. Sell Outs every game!!! KU travels well, and MVC and SIU are very close and have following!

[FLW Buckeye]

michgan,

as far as 1st and 2nd round matches. i'd wait. last year, St.Louis regional was a regional nightmare, closest team was Butler. was a ticket nightmare to sell, no teams with big fan bases that travel. Why they didnt have KU and SIU in st.louis was typical NCAA stupidity. Sell Outs every game!!! KU travels well, and MVC and SIU are very close and have following!

I went to St. Louis last March. Got my tixs the same day they announced brackets. Nosebleed tixs were still selling up to gametime. I'm assuming that they never sold out because of the empty seats during the second round games.

[Adelpiero]

michgan,

as far as 1st and 2nd round matches. i'd wait. last year, St.Louis regional was a regional nightmare, closest team was Butler. was a ticket nightmare to sell, no teams with big fan bases that travel. Why they didnt have KU and SIU in st.louis was typical NCAA stupidity. Sell Outs every game!!! KU travels well, and MVC and SIU are very close and have following!

I went to St. Louis last March. Got my tixs the same day they announced brackets. Nosebleed tixs were still selling up to gametime. I'm assuming that they never sold out because of the empty seats during the second round games.

not even close to selling out, horrible matchups.

instead of a chance of Kansas and siu matchup in st.louis an obvious sellout. they get florida, oregon, butler and unlv.

[SunCoastSooner]

I love it when people don't know what "non-profit" means.

You think your local credit union doesn't make money? Or your utility co-op?

Ditto and Rack!!!

[Sky]

I love it when people don't know what "non-profit" means.

You think your local credit union doesn't make money? Or your utility co-op?

Comparing a credit union and utility co-op to the NCAA is a reach at best. Those two make money off their customers for providing a service. What service is the NCAA providing here? The lottery is a racket, period. Its an agency that preaches fairness, sportsmanship, and integrity using their position to improve their financial outlook. I know, in the grand scheme of things, this is how things go in big buisness and its probably not worth complaining about--but it is a load of crap.

And there is no reason to start the lottery so early if you aren't going to draw the "winners" till Feb anyway.

Tickets to the regionals are nice because you can usually get them up front by going through the venue but getting tix for the final four is an absurd abuse of power.

[Goober McTuber]

I agree, regarding the Final Four. I stopped applying for tickets years ago. Nothing like paying premium prices to watch a basketball game from the top of a football stadium. I was surprised the NCAA awarded a Sweet Sixteen to the Kohl Center. It only seats about 17,000. Word is that they really liked it and will definitely consider a repeat visit.

[Sky]

Here's a hint:

The NCAA doesn't exist to benefit you. That doesn't mean they're not a non-profit.

Non-profit does not mean that you can't or shouldn't be profitable.

Requiring the money up front provides a barrier for entry into the lottery so that only people who actually ARE going to buy a ticket enter.

Are you SURE they're earning interest on that money? I don't find it unlikely, but it's also a possibility that they're holding that money in escrow.

Sherlock,
The NCAA isn't here for me? Nah, you must be kidding. But really, I never made that point. In fact, I kind of made the opposite point--unlike a credit union or utility co, they don't provide a service.

But are you denying this is a racket? Its on par with the BCS or Superbowl except it is run by an entity that operates in a completely different capacity.

And what does requiring the money early do? Is that really going to scare scalpers away? Is someone who doesn't really want to attend going to go on the website and buy tickets if they don't want to use them in some facet? And hell, the NCAA links directly to a ticket broker from their website for those that didn't make the cut.

[Adelpiero]

they get the Money, a year+ in advance.

it goes into an account, i believe with citigroup, and then they get interest for 6-8 months before they even make selections


oh it's a rackett, i have a buddy who works for the "Valley". shit he tells me is a riot, the ncaa is a mafia, without the killing.



they push people around, force hands, and get away with a ton of shit!