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YSU 2017 NCAA Division I Football Championship Game tickets sold out again
YOUNGSTOWN
On Thursday, the Youngstown State University Athletics Department announced and then quickly sold out of a travel package for YSU students for the FCS national championship game Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas.
Ron Strollo, YSU athletic director, said he was thrilled to be able to help students who wanted to travel to Texas.
The tickets came from the NCAA after Strollo and other representatives approached the collegiate athletic organization to discuss the “challenges” YSU students and administration were facing.
Last week, YSU sold its allotment of 1,000 tickets, and fans have been forced to go to secondary markets if they wanted to attend the game against James Madison.
YSU was required to put in a bid for tickets right after its second-round win over Jacksonville State on Dec. 3. The bid of $75,000 to the NCAA turned into 1,000 seats. Only loge members and the highest tier of Penguin Club members were given the option to purchase seats before the 1,000 seats were sold, and students did not have a chance to buy tickets directly from the university.
So, the university offered the student travel packages, totaling 125 tickets, which sold out in about 45 minutes.
“We worked together in order to try to rectify our challenge with our students who are a high priority for us,” Strollo said. “The NCAA was able to open up a section closed because of construction.”
YSU purchased the tickets at $65 each, and travel packages that included bus transportation and two nights lodging in Plano, Texas, were sold to students for $75 to $150.
The general-admission tickets are for Section 121 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco.
Strollo said there is discussion with NCAA representatives to further help students get to the game, but there is no plan moving forward for the university to obtain more tickets.
“We underestimated the amount of tickets our bid was going to translate to, and that was the challenge for us,” he said. “We are obviously sorry for any confusion or anxiety we created for our fans.”
Strollo added that fans are able to obtain tickets from secondary vendors such as the NCAA Ticket Exchange at www.ncaa.com.
There will be a send-off rally from 11 a.m. to noon Wednesday at YSU.
In addition, on game day Jan. 7, the Covelli Centre in downtown Youngstown will host a free watch party.
The event features big screens, a DJ, cornhole/tailgate games, free parking and more. Doors open at 10 a.m., with kickoff at noon.
Free tickets are available for advance pickup at the Covelli Centre box office or at the doors the day of the event. Coolers, outside food and beverage, tailgating and chairs are prohibited. Covelli Centre bars and concession stands will be open.