The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- August 30, 1999

Ticket demand for 2000 Final Fours maintains lofty levels

About 174,000 entries for tickets for the 2000 Men's Final Four were received this year, representing the second largest ticket drawing in Final Four history.

Meanwhile, demand for the 2000 Women's Final Four has assured a sellout for the eighth consecutive year.

Members of the general public whose entries were selected for the 2000 Men's and Women's Final Four were notified in letters that were mailed in mid-August. Refunds were provided at the same time to those whose names were not selected.

The 2000 Men's Final Four will be played at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, while the Women's Final Four will take place at the First Union Center in Philadelphia.

Refunds for unsuccessful applications for both men's and women's tickets (and for those individuals who were selected to win men's tickets at a lower price than for what they applied) were credited electronically on August 10 to the account in which applicant's checks were drawn through an Automated Clearing House transaction.

Refunds not processed electronically were mailed August 16. Tickets for both events will be mailed in early November.

Interest income generated from ticket application funds for both the Men's and Women's Final Fours is used to defray the costs of administrating the ticket drawing and distribution.

Any additional revenue over that cost is applied to the general fund of the NCAA, which finances such programs and services as NCAA championships and the Youth Education through Sports clinics that take place in conjunction with selected NCAA championships.

Men's Final Four

The RCA Dome will seat approximately 43,150 for 2000 Men's Final Four, which will be played April 1 and 3. About 10,250 tickets (24 percent of capacity) were allocated to the general public through the selection process.

The remaining tickets are reserved for the four participating institutions, 32 percent; the host institution and local organizing committee, 12 percent; representatives of the NCAA membership (Division I conferences, presidents and various committee members), 15 percent; members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, 8 percent; and Division I member institutions, 6 percent.

Applications were received from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and several foreign countries.

Indiana accounted for 18 percent of the entries submitted and for 17 percent of the entries selected. Approximately 500 Indiana cities were represented in the drawing.

Indiana had the most entries with 31,510. The other top 10 states, in order, were Ohio, 16,738; Illinois, 14,127; California, 9,665; Michigan, 7,787; Texas, 7,529; Florida, 7,157; New York, 5,606; Kentucky, 5,542; and Pennsylvania, 5,162.

Women's Final Four

The 2000 Women's Final Four will be played March 31 and April 2.

This is the third year that general public tickets to the Women's Final Four have been available through the random computerized drawing.

The Women's Final Four has sold out every year since 1993.

First Union Center will seat approximately 20,600 for the event. About 6,500 tickets (31 percent of capacity) were allocated to the general public.

The remaining tickets are reserved for the four participating institutions, 25 percent; the host institution and local organizing committee, 10 percent; members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, 18 percent; and representatives of the NCAA membership and affiliated entities (Division I conferences, member institutions, committees and ESPN), 16 percent.

Applicants could enter the drawing up to 10 times, but only one entry per household was selected, for a maximum of four tickets.

Applications were received from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and one foreign country.

The state of Pennsylvania accounted for 21 percent of the entries submitted and for 21 percent of the entries selected. Pennsylvania had 492 winning entries.

The other top five states, in order, were Connecticut, 382; New Jersey, 240; New York, 106; and Virginia, 85 entries.

Men's entries, by state

1. Indiana 31,510

2. Ohio 16,738

3. Illinois 14,127

4. California 9,665

5. Michigan 7,787

6. Texas 7,529

7. Florida 7,157

8. New York 5,606

9. Kentucky 5,542

10. Pennsylvania 5,162

Women's previous sellouts

The seven previous consecutive sellouts for the Women's Final Four:

1999 -- San Jose Arena, San Jose, California (17,773).

1998 -- Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri (17,976).

1997 -- Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati (16,714).

1996 -- Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, North Carolina (23,291).

1995 --Target Center, Minneapolis (18,046)

1994 -- Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia (11,996)

1993 -- The Omni, Atlanta (16,151)