MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Per tickets - the visiting team is usually given their allotment of tickets to purchase... and the rest are then done general admission by the home team. Also per the visiting team, whatever they don't sell they return and those get thrown back in the general admission bin. I assure you that the opposing team(s) is not getting shorted in this deal.

[sac]

Per tickets - the visiting team is usually given their allotment of tickets to purchase... and the rest are then done general admission by the home team. Also per the visiting team, whatever they don't sell they return and those get thrown back in the general admission bin. I assure you that the opposing team(s) is not getting shorted in this deal.

My understanding is that Augustana is not providing an allotment to sell. 


Now if Augustana wants to be dumb and risk 800 or more Hope fans descending on Rock Island and buying up what amounts to more than what their allotment should be, by all means be dumb.  But I think the main point here is very specific rules about ticket allotments don't seem to be being followed.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I am pretty sure things are on the up and up considering how many times Augustana has host the NCAA tournament.

Couple things of note:
- Hope had until yesterday at noon to inform Augustana if they had sold their allotment of tickets for tonight... or how many they sold.
- And this tidbit:

The host institution shall make available to each winning teams their ticket allotment
after the completion of each institution's contest. Winning teams may distribute their
tickets or allow the host institution to distribute the tickets. If the host is to distribute
the tickets, they may set the distribution schedule.

I again really can't imagine Augustana is doing anything they aren't allowed to do simply because this is such a well set-up system that has been in place for years. I suspect there are parts of this story that aren't completely in front of everyone.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

I am pretty sure things are on the up and up considering how many times Augustana has host the NCAA tournament.

Couple things of note:
- Hope had until yesterday at noon to inform Augustana if they had sold their allotment of tickets for tonight... or how many they sold.
- And this tidbit:

The host institution shall make available to each winning teams their ticket allotment
after the completion of each institution’s contest. Winning teams may distribute their
tickets or allow the host institution to distribute the tickets. If the host is to distribute
the tickets, they may set the distribution schedule.

I again really can't imagine Augustana is doing anything they aren't allowed to do simply because this is such a well set-up system that has been in place for years. I suspect there are parts of this story that aren't completely in front of everyone.

100% correct that this is how it is supposed to happen. The reality is that it is NOT happening at Augustana - and I know this from first hand knowledge from the official reps who are involved. At every other host institution I have been to in the last 25 years it has been handled just as you describe with one exception -Augustana in 2011.

Tickets for the games last night were only available at 4pm to all 4 teams, and at 5pm for both teams today. I know it is hard to believe that the rules are not being followed so blatantly, but those are the facts.

Dave - next time you have an opportunity to ask questions of the NCAA committee, can you please ask them about this situation?

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

OK... looking into it.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I have responded to private messages, but to set the record straight:

It sounds like there was a plan for tickets from the onset and somehow there was a miscommunication to people in what I can only suspect was a bad game of telephone. I am not sure why Hope fans onsight were not aware of what was going on, but here is what Augustana has told me directly per messages on this board:

FYI...here are the facts about tickets for tonight's Hope-Augustana game. Tickets are not being sold in advance to anyone, however, Hope College fans will have an allotment available--as per the NCAA guidelines--and the tickets will be sold from a separate location at the Carver Center. Seating spaces will be reserved for Hope fans adjacent, behind and across from the team bench area.

All of the aforementioned details were vetted with Anne Bakker, Hope's Athletic Ticket Manager, who is traveling with the team following the conclusion of last night's game so she could communicate the information to fans and parents.

I suspect that not every fan who attends tonight will get the seat or standing location they prefer, however, Augustana is making every effort to be gracious and proper hosts.

That has clearly been the plan from the onset as the national committee chair, on site rep (who is the Central Region chair), and Augustana have told me this was the plan. I suspect some people didn't know this plan and thought all tickets were be sold openly. I am sorry if Hope fans thought there was confusion, but there hasn't been one person I have talked to that made it sound like something was arry. So, let's move on and good luck to Hope and Augustana tonight in what should be a great game. I am now on the road for 2 - 2 1/2 hours to my second sight of the weekend.

[knightvision]

For anyone headed to Augie for the game tomorrow PLEASE TAKE NOTE:

Tickets will go on sale at 5 pm and all are general admission. Despite the defined NCAA requirements that the visiting team receive 1/3 of the tickets, Augie is selling all the tickets on a first come first served basis.  That's 5pm central time.

Tonight's game was a sellout/ oversell as there were many standing room only people there, including the teams from the first game who had no where to sit.

So.... How can they host if they don't follow NCAA Guidelines?  Has the NCAA Rep been made aware of this?  That would be a shame if people drove that far and couldn't get in to see the game. But it sounds like that may have already happened last night.... ONLY IN DIVISION III.....   

Rep is aware.  Not to worry though, I have complete confidence in all us fabulous Hope fans - we will just get there early and get our seats.

As far as the game itself, no doubt Augie is a significant favorite, but the pressure is all on them. Hope certainly has the ability to pull off the upset. Hope plays, Hope wins.

Congrats to Hope and Alma on opening game tourney wins.  This is always an exciting time of year for tourney teams and their fans .   Would love to see a couple more MIAA wins tonight...especially for Alma given the novelty of the experience for them.  Does anybody besides me get the feeling that Alma may just be the Cinderella story of the tourney? 

FDF, whether the exuberance evident in your post is of an Alan Greenspan nature we will soon find out, but your team is still alive and mine isn't, so enjoy the moment.  While I can understand your statement about all the pressure being on Augustana, I actually think Hope is feeling it more than Augustana right now.  Part of that is based on my sense that more than a few folks in the Hope basketball community have seen this team as having all the pieces to win it all this year.  GM's comments in an early season interview on Hoopsville seemed to confirm that perspective.  Without actually saying it, GM pretty clearly implied that Hope's goal for the year was a national championship.  Nothing wrong with that goal, obviously, but I remember talking with oldknight about his comments and we were both quite surprised by that kind of talk that early in the year.  Whether that proves to be a burden or a motivator remains to be seen, and in my experience it usually depends on the mental make-up of the players.  It's one of the many reasons that I believe that if Hope does in fact make a run, guys with a bit of a nasty streak like Eidson and Blackledge will sooner or late play a huge role in how far Hope advances.  Regardless, I expect this to be an outstanding game.  Sounds like it should be an electric atmosphere--just as tournament basketball should be!!

BTW, thanks to you, I lost a bet with a Calvin friend who predicted that HPHW would appear sometime this week in a post.  I insisted that it would wait until week 2 if Hope advanced that far, but alas, I was wrong.  Thanks a lot!    And if you ever feel the need to change your moniker, I think you found it...FHF   

[oldknight]

For anyone headed to Augie for the game tomorrow PLEASE TAKE NOTE:

Tickets will go on sale at 5 pm and all are general admission. Despite the defined NCAA requirements that the visiting team receive 1/3 of the tickets, Augie is selling all the tickets on a first come first served basis.  That's 5pm central time.

Tonight's game was a sellout/ oversell as there were many standing room only people there, including the teams from the first game who had no where to sit.

So.... How can they host if they don't follow NCAA Guidelines?  Has the NCAA Rep been made aware of this?  That would be a shame if people drove that far and couldn't get in to see the game. But it sounds like that may have already happened last night.... ONLY IN DIVISION III.....   

Rep is aware.  Not to worry though, I have complete confidence in all us fabulous Hope fans - we will just get there early and get our seats.

As far as the game itself, no doubt Augie is a significant favorite, but the pressure is all on them. Hope certainly has the ability to pull off the upset. Hope plays, Hope wins.

Congrats to Hope and Alma on opening game tourney wins.  This is always an exciting time of year for tourney teams and their fans .   Would love to see a couple more MIAA wins tonight...especially for Alma given the novelty of the experience for them.  Does anybody besides me get the feeling that Alma may just be the Cinderella story of the tourney? 

FDF, whether the exuberance evident in your post is of an Alan Greenspan nature we will soon find out, but your team is still alive and mine isn't, so enjoy the moment.  While I can understand your statement about all the pressure being on Augustana, I actually think Hope is feeling it more than Augustana right now.  Part of that is based on my sense that more than a few folks in the Hope basketball community have seen this team as having all the pieces to win it all this year.  GM's comments in an early season interview on Hoopsville seemed to confirm that perspective.  Without actually saying it, GM pretty clearly implied that Hope's goal for the year was a national championship.  Nothing wrong with that goal, obviously, but I remember talking with oldknight about his comments and we were both quite surprised by that kind of talk that early in the year.  Whether that proves to be a burden or a motivator remains to be seen, and in my experience it usually depends on the mental make-up of the players.  It's one of the many reasons that I believe that if Hope does in fact make a run, guys with a bit of a nasty streak like Eidson and Blackledge will sooner or late play a huge role in how far Hope advances.  Regardless, I expect this to be an outstanding game.  Sounds like it should be an electric atmosphere--just as tournament basketball should be!!

BTW, thanks to you, I lost a bet with a Calvin friend who predicted that HPHW would appear sometime this week in a post.  I insisted that it would wait until week 2 if Hope advanced that far, but alas, I was wrong.  Thanks a lot!    And if you ever feel the need to change your moniker, I think you found it...FHF   

Not sure the Cinderella slipper fits this Alma squad. They're a d@## good team as became apparent to MIAA observers during the conference season. Tonight they exploded for 51 second half points to beat favored John Carroll University 90-83, getting the Scots' ticket punched to the Sweet 16 round of games.

[MaroonKnighty]

Nice win for Alma.  Time for Hope to step it up and get two MIAA teams into the sweet 16!

[oldknight]

Nice win for Alma.  Time for Hope to step it up and get two MIAA teams into the sweet 16!

Don't see that happening. Not only is Hope down 42-30 at the break, they also have serious foul issues with 3 each on Hawkins and Benson and 2 on Blackledge and Gardner.

EDIT:  Make that 52-30 with 18:22 left as Augie scores 10 straight to start the half. That didn't take long.

[Gregory Sager]

... but wait! Hope with a 10-0 run to answer. It's a 12-point Augie lead again, same as haltime.

[oldknight]

... but wait! Hope with a 10-0 run to answer. It's a 12-point Augie lead again, same as haltime.

Hope now within 5 at 60-55. But how much gas is left in the Flying Dutchmen tank? Given the physical nature of play, I'm guessing not much.

[Gregory Sager]

Yep. Augie absorbed the counterpunch and now has it back up to 19 with five minutes and change remaining.

[MaroonKnighty]

C'mon Hope, pedal to the metal.  Let's Finish strong!

[MaroonKnighty]

dang it!