Hoya Staff Writer Friday, September 1, 2006 Lindsay Anderson/The Hoya
Men’s basketball season tickets are selling out at a record-setting pace and could be gone as early as Sunday, according to a representative from the student fan club Hoya Blue. Including sales from flyers sent home to freshmen, tables set up near freshmen dorms during Move-In, and a tabling effort at Late Night at Leavey last Wednesday – all Hoya Blue efforts – over 1,600 student section season tickets have already been sold. The most rapid surge came Wednesday night, when 625 tickets were sold in two and a half hours at the late-night event. Rumors were even circulating around the student center that tickets would be gone by the end of the evening. “We have seen a great deal of interest in season tickets for men’s basketball from our students and young alumni over the last few months,” Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs Kyle Ragsdale said. “It’s a very exciting time at Georgetown not only for basketball, but for all of our teams. We’re thrilled that our students, alumni and fans have continued to support us.” Of the first 1,000 ticket sales (those generated by the flyer and the Move-In table), roughly 800 went to freshmen, according to Hoya Blue President Kurt Muhlbauer (COL ’07), but Wednesday’s night’s sales were more evenly distributed among the four classes. If the campus’ predominant student spirit organization sells tickets during the SAC fair, as they had originally planned, tickets are almost guaranteed to sell out. Lines Wednesday night were snaking out of Leavey’s front doors, and nearly a dozen Hoya Blue personnel were on hand to deal with the unexpectedly high number of customers. “Tonight was total madness, but one of the most incredible things I’ve seen at Georgetown at the same time,” Muhlbauer wrote in an e-mail. A year ago, approximately 1,200 student section seats were sold total. Up to 2,000 student section seats – the final figure is not yet know – will be available at Verizon Center this year, and Muhlbauer is confident that however many tickets become available, all will sell. Two years ago, during John Thompson III’s first season as head coach, students purchased only 625 student section seats. The Hoyas finished 23-10 a year ago and nearly made it past eventual-National Champion Florida into the Elite Eight. The buzz surrounding this year’s squad, one ranked as high as No. 7 in ESPN preseason rankings, is the main reason for the increase in ticket sales. “It’s pretty crazy, but I understand it . I’ve heard a lot of good things,” Sana Haq (COL ’10), a freshman and a newcomer to Hoya basketball, said as she waited in the Leavey Center line Wednesday night. Others, though, remembered when such madness was not the case. “This is a little different than getting them in mid-November,” senior Andy Rowe (MSB ’07), another of the students waiting to purchase tickets, said of his previous experiences buying tickets. “But it’s worth it if this is the price to pay for better basketball.” Still, better basketball wasn’t the only reason for dropping $90 on season tickets. “All my friends have them,” Siobhan Thomas-Smith (SFS ’09) said. Thomas-Smith chose not to purchase season tickets last year. Muhlbauer and Hoya Blue are awaiting a final word from the Athletic Department on the number of seats available and will then decide how to market the final 300 or so tickets. The season officially kicks off with Midnight Madness on Friday, Oct. 13 in McDonough Gymnasium.