PROVIDENCE – If fans want to see the Providence College men’s basketball team compete in the NCAA Tournament in a couple of weeks, it is going to cost quite a bit more just for the opportunity to get tickets – let alone get the tickets in hand.
The college announced last week that as part of their requests for the NCAA first and second games March 16-19 PC may play in, fans must first make a $500 nonrefundable donation deposit. The new figure marks a 500% increase over the college’s donation request last year. For the 2022 NCAA Tournament – where the Friars made it to the Sweet 16 round for the first time since 1997 – PC had requested a $100 nonrefundable donation from fans wanting tournament tickets.
According to the PC athletics website, the deposit “will not apply” to the cost of the tournament tickets, which fans are not guaranteed to get even after making the $500 contribution. Fans will be notified by March 14 if their requests can be accommodated, and such requests requires fans to choose which cities they are willing to see the Friars play in.
If not, the $500 deposit will be converted into a tax-deductible donation, the website states.
PC basketball spokesperson Arthur Parks told Providence Business News that due to the success of the men’s basketball program, fan support and fan demand for tickets “far outnumber the supply” the college receives for the postseason as to why the donation requirement greatly increased this year. The donation policy, Sparks explained, helps the college’s efforts to “make sure that the generous support of our fans goes to benefit the men’s basketball program and not the secondary ticket market.”
Parks also said NCAA basketball tickets will be distributed based on priority points system based on rewarding “a donor’s loyalty” to the college, according to PC’s policy. The point system awards a point for every dollar given annually to the college’s athletic department and a half-point for each dollar given to PC. The points, the policy states, are then used to “determine the order for season ticket upgrade requests as well as the ability to obtain tickets to away games and tournament play, based upon availability.”
In other words, the more you donate to the college, the better your chances are securing NCAA tournament tickets. Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., and Xavier University in Cincinnati, fellow Big East Conference schools that are expected to make the NCAA Tournament this year, have similar policies for its men’s basketball team in obtaining postseason tickets.
Both the University of Rhode Island and Bryant University did not immediately respond to requests for comment on their respective postseason ticket policies. The Rams made it to the Big Dance in 2017 and 2018, while the Bulldogs last year qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in its history. Colleges, including PC and URI, also regularly apply donation requirements to certain men’s basketball premium season ticket packages.
Parks said PC last year sold out of its NCAA ticket allotment for all three rounds the Friars played in and the donation requests only apply to the men’s basketball team. However, it is unclear how many tickets were sold or how much in donations PC received from the ticket requests. He also said there is a different process for students to purchase postseason tickets and will not be asked to pay $500 up front, but did not elaborate what the split is between tickets for students and tickets for paying customers.
Where PC will play in the NCAA Tournament will also impact how much demand the college gets for ticket requests, and PC anticipates that, Parks said. The 68-team bracket won’t be announced until March 12, but the closest location the Friars could play in the first two rounds is in Albany, N.Y. – and as far west as Sacramento, Calif. Therefore, travel costs for fans would need to be considered.
On March 9, PC as the No. 5 seed will play the University of Connecticut in the Big East Conference Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York. According to early projections from ESPN, PC will be the No. 8 seed in the West Region playing Boise State University in the first round in Sacramento, Calif.
Then, if the Friars advance to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds, they would play in Las Vegas if ESPN’s projections hold true. But Parks and PC are hopeful that postseason ticket sales will still be high.
“It is our hope that we are able to sell our allotment of NCAA tickets. The demand could vary depending on which site the team is selected to play at,” he said.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
