Public interest for 2003 NCAA Men's and Women's Final Four tickets was revealed to be at a high level during random drawings conducted recently at the national office.

The Men's Final Four general public ticket allocation increased significantly, while the Women's Final Four allocation represented the second-largest number of general public tickets allotted in the event's history.

Notification of ticket winners and refunds have been mailed to those who submitted applications for tickets to the 2003 Men's Final Four April 5 and 7 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans and the 2003 Women's Final Four April 6 and 8 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

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.

About 15,500 tickets have been allocated to the general public for the 2003 Men's Final Four, representing the largest allocation in six years.

The Louisiana Superdome will seat about 54,500 for this event. Twenty-eight percent of the tickets were allocated to the general public through the selection process. The remaining tickets are reserved for the four participating institutions (35 percent), the host institution/local organizing committee (10 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.

A total of 8,400 tickets were set aside for the public for the 2003 event. This marks the sixth year that general public tickets to the Women's Final Four have been available through the random computerized drawing.

The Georgia Dome will seat about 28,000 for this event. Of that number, nearly 30 percent will go to the general public. The remaining tickets are reserved for the four participating institutions (11 percent), the host institution/local organizing committee (12.5 percent), members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (11 percent), and representatives of the NCAA membership and affiliated entities (for example, Division I conferences, member institutions, committees and ESPN) (14.5 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.

The Women's Final Four has been sold out for 10 consecutive years (since 1993) and has recorded 11 sellouts overall. The 11 previous sellouts were:

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)

2002 -- Alamodome, San Antonio (29,619)