Hoosier lotto favors few

There are 53,250 seats in the Georgia Dome. The only problem for IU students and basketball devotees is actually getting one of them.\nEach of the schools headed to the Final Four have been granted 4,526 tickets for all three games. But for students, getting their hands on University-delegated tickets has proven a tremendous challenge -- and coming up with the money to pay for public seating has only compounded the headache.\nSince Sunday morning, IU Athletics Department ticket office employees have been calling student ticketholders selected through a lottery to purchase seats to Saturday and Monday's games. In addition, 3,500 season ticketholders have been informed of their eligibility to purchase tickets, IU ticket manager Mike Roberts told the Associated Press.\nSenior Andrew Beaupre was one of the lucky few. Randomly selected to gain the opportunity to purchase tickets through the athletics department lottery, Beupre ended up paying $245 for two tickets to all three games.\n"The cost is amazing," Beaupre said. "I wish there were more tickets that went to the students."\nBeupre said he plans to sell his ticket for Monday's game if Oklahoma defeats the Hoosiers Saturday night.\n"If we do lose, hopefully I will be able to sell my ticket for Monday for more than I bought both of them for," Beupre said.\nHe may not have an easy time of it, however. NCAA host cities face pressure from the conference to intervene in ticket scalping. Indianapolis, for example, created a short-term ban on selling tickets above face value in an effort to curb illegal sales. While Atlanta has not yet resorted to city-wide measures, a "no-scalp zone" extending 2,700 on all sides of the Georgia Dome, will be enforced by city police. \nIn the meantime, however, Beaupre isn't thinking of defeat. He's leaving for Atlanta at 8 a.m. Friday morning and "plans to paint the town red."\n"We're winning it," Beupre said.\nTwenty-seven percent of the available seats -- 14, 378 tickets -- at the Dome have been allocated as public seats. Another 12.5 percent have been delegated to local organizers, while corporate and broadcast partners snagged 10 percent of seats. Athletic directors, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and media account for the remaining 16.5 percent.\nSophomore Liz Couleur was selected through the IU lottery to get tickets. She ended up buying two tickets at the main level for $160 apiece -- seats that are "selling for mucho dinero now," she said.\n"I got called last night and was asked to call back immediately this morning," Couleur said. "I went to the ticket office because I knew I'd have to pay for them up-front."\nCouleur's driving down with her boyfriend, Mike, an associate scout for the Atlanta Braves. If IU wins Saturday, the couple plans on going to the Atlanta Zoo and visiting the Coca-Cola Museum. They'll also hit the Braves' opening game Monday. \nIf IU loses Saturday, she'll sell her tickets and head back to Bloomington.\nFreshman Mark Barry also scored two tickets through the lottery for Saturday and Monday's IU matchups. He paid $325 for the seats and plans on taking a buddy to catch a bit of the action in Atlanta Saturday.\nBarry plans to drive to Atlanta. The Indianapolis International Airport reports flights filled to near-capacity for Thursday, Friday and Saturday -- a weekend complicated by both travelers homebound for the Easter holiday and basketball enthusiasts headed to the Final Four. Nevertheless, Barry remains undaunted.\n"I felt very lucky," Barry said. "I haven't even given it a second thought. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity and I didn't want to pass it up."\nFor students without that golden opportunity, however, scrounging up the funds for tickets -- or in some cases, finding ticketholders willing to part with even nosebleed seats -- has proven more than frustrating.\nIU cheerleader Ricci Kohlmeyer spent most of Wednesday morning calling her parents on her cellular phone, trying to scrounge up a pair of seats for Saturday's game. Kohlmeyer has her way paid -- she'll be on the sidelines as usual, cheering the Hoosiers on to victory with fellow members of the coed squad. But her parents, who routinely make the two-hour trek from Evansville to Assembly Hall to watch their daughter cheer, were ticketless for the biggest IU athletics event of the year. After a few hours on the phone, Kohlmeyer finally ended up getting tickets for more than $300 apiece.\nTwo Bloomington travel agencies, Sunshine Travel and Carlson-Wagonlit, have set up inclusive packages offering airfare, hotel accommodations and game tickets for upwards of $1,200. For many students, this price is far too steep, yet it wanes in comparison to tickets currently up for grabs on eBay and other Internet sites, some priced at over $11,000 each. \nYet for some, back-court seats and a guaranteed lousy view just aren't worth the hassle. Some, like sophomore Laci McCandless, would rather hold out for Monday's game. McCandless plans on driving with her parents to Atlanta Friday and watching the game at a sports bar or restaurant. They plan on buying tickets from scalpers for Monday's game.\n"We just decided it would be really difficult to get tickets for Saturday, but that the losers will be selling their tickets for Monday," McCandless said. \nOthers, like sophomore Mark Waligora, plan on heading home for the weekend and watching from there. Waligora wasn't selected through the IU lottery to get tickets. He's more than a little bitter, especially since his parents said they would have sent him to Atlanta to catch the game. Instead, he'll be watching from Cincinnati, at a party co-hosted by longtime buddy and IU sophomore Greg Dietz.\n"I'm pissed," Waligora said. "But I leave Friday, and we're going to have the high school boys go to BW-3's or one of our houses. It should be sweet, but it would be better seeing your team play live."\nHe thinks more student tickets should be allocated, however. \n"I think it's outrageous that more consideration isn't taken for the students," Waligora said. "Players play for the students."\nJustin Allen contributed to this report.