The number of tickets allocated to the general public for both the 2002 NCAA Men's and Women's Final Fours increased significantly through ticket drawings conducted recently at the NCAA national office.

Notification of ticket winners and refunds have been mailed to those who submitted applications for tickets to the 2002 Men's Final Four March 30 and April 1 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and the 2002 Women's Final Four March 29 and 31 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Interest income generated from ticket application funds for both the Men's and Women's Final Fours is used to defray the costs of administering the ticket drawing and distribution. Any additional revenue is applied to the general fund of the NCAA, which finances such programs and services as NCAA championships and affiliated programs.

Men's Final Four

About 14,200 tickets have been allocated to the general public for the 2002 Men's Final Four, representing the largest allocation in five years.

The Georgia Dome will seat about 53,000 for this event. About 27 percent of the tickets were allocated to the general public through this selection process. The remaining tickets are reserved for the four participating institutions (34 percent), the host institution/local organizing committee (13 percent), representatives of the NCAA membership (for example, Division I conferences, presidents and various committee members) (12 percent), members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (7 percent) and Division I member institutions (7 percent).

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

Women's Final Four

Representing the largest general public allocation in the history of the Women's Final Four, about 14,000 tickets have been set aside for the public for the 2002 event. This marks the fifth year that general public tickets to the Women's Final Four have been available through the random computerized drawing.

The Alamodome will seat about 30,000 for this event. Of that number, about 46 percent will go to the general public. The remaining tickets are reserved for the four participating institutions (12 percent), the host institution/local organizing committee (12.5 percent), members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (12 percent), and representatives of the NCAA membership and affiliated entities (for example, Division I conferences, member institutions, committees and ESPN) (17.5 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 and the District of Columbia. Texas accounted for 13.6 percent of the entries submitted and for 15.8 percent of the entries selected. Of the 1,316 entries from Texas, 744 (or 56.3 percent) were selected.

1987 -- Frank Erwin Special Events Center, Austin, Texas (15,615)

1993 -- The Omni, Atlanta (16,141)

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

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

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

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

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

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

2000 -- First Union Center, Philadelphia (20,060)

2001 -- Savvis Center, St. Louis (20,551)