Students who waited in line at the Athletic Department ticket office Monday and did not receive tickets will have one more opportunity to get the highly sought-after tickets to this weekend’s Southeastern Conference Championship game.
Jenni Peters, Athletic Department marketing and promotions director, said judges will award SEC Championship tickets to the 18 students who attend tonight’s Lady Tiger basketball game in the best LSU spirit costumes. The 18 winners will make up the front row of the LSU student section in the Georgia Dome.
Peters said she planned the event to help accommodate the “die-hard” fans.
“They’re great,” Peters said. “They’re great for the spirit of the crowd.”
Peters said these fans are important to the atmosphere of the game and the Athletic Department would like to give them an opportunity to attend the SEC Championship. She specifically mentioned the students who attend each football game wearing Superman, Speedracer, Batman and cow costumes with an LSU twist.
Peters said Y100, a local country radio station, is sponsoring the event and paying for the winners’ tickets.
The Lady Tigers’ tip-off against Rutgers is at 7 p.m. in the PMAC and the costume contest will be at halftime.
Students waited in line Saturday, Sunday and Monday to have their student IDs scanned to enter the lottery for SEC Championship tickets.
Although close to 4,000 students applied for tickets to the championship game, only 1,500 received e-mails late last night or early this morning saying they could pick up their tickets today and Wednesday.
Brian Broussard, Athletic Department ticket office manager, said the line to scan IDs closed at 8 p.m. Monday, but he allowed more than 100 students who were already in line to enter the lottery.
The small number of available tickets will leave many students looking for alternatives.
With two front-row tickets going for more than $800 on eBAY, students were eager to find any way possible to obtain tickets.
Jay Ducote, a political science and economics senior, said he is confident he will be able to get tickets.
Ducote said he and a group of 12 friends had about 20 friends scan their IDs in an attempt to make sure the entire group will get tickets.
Veronica Brana, a mass communication freshman, said she is not trying to go to the game, but is scanning her ID to help Ducote and his friends.
Ducote and Brana said they waited in line Monday afternoon at the ticket office for about 45 minutes and anticipated that a few thousand students would apply for tickets.
If he does not receive tickets through the student lottery, Ducote said he would probably be able to buy some from some friends who are regular season-ticket holders.
“I have a feeling I will be in Atlanta no matter what,” Ducote said.
Although Ducote said the ticket promotion at the Lady Tigers’ game was a good idea, he said he will probably not be able to make it because he will be in class.
Many students complained about the last-minute announcement of who gets tickets, because it did not leave them enough time to plan a road trip or book a hotel, but Ducote said he was prepared.
“We got hotel reservations a month ago,” Ducote said. “We’re experienced at road trips, so we’re not worried.”