What started off as a show of extreme dedication turned into a controversy late this afternoon.
A few diehard IU fans set up a tent outside the door of the south entrance of Assembly Hall, all in hopes to sit front row in the GA section at Saturday's IU game against No. 1 Kentucky.
At first, IU Athletics tweeted about it and even IU Coach Tom Crean retweeted a picture of the fans campsite.
But then, according to Bloomington Herald Times reporters Dustin Dopirak and Ryan Kartje, the situation got legal. IU Police Department Officials notified the campers and IU Athletics that tents were prohibited on university property.
According to IU Athletics, "IUPD informed us that it is an IU policy not to allow tents/camping on IU property. IUPD will notify the 'campers' that they are welcome to stand or sit in line for the next four days but the use of tents is prohibited."
The officers cited the current Occupy movement as a reason but not the complete source of the policy. According to Dopirak, the officer said that Dunn Meadow protests in years past were also a reason for why IU enacted the policy.
The only reason Occupy is allowed to have tents is because they are not camping on university property.
There have also been reports of Port-A-Potties being provided for the campers, who said they are there to stay, with or without the tent.
Though other schools such as Duke and Michigan State allow students to camp out for games on university property, IU does not. It is an issue that IU has not had to deal with for most of it's history, due to the lack of a General Admission student section until last season.
Whether or not IU Athletics will look to provide an exception for diehard fans in the future remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure---if you have GA seats for IU/Kentucky on Saturday, you will not be the first ones to get in that door.
