Davidson offers its students a free ride (and ticket) to Detroit
University of Wisconsin fans have long had the reputation for traveling well, and the red-sweater crowd figures to live up to its billing in Detroit this weekend for the NCAA tournament's Midwest Regional.
Badger backers have always had to pay their own way, though. That won't be the case for hundreds of fans of UW's Sweet 16 opponent, Davidson College. A convoy of coach buses are warming up for the 650-mile drive from North Carolina, ready to deliver a wave of Davidson students being treated to a weekend getaway by the trustees of the 1,700-student private school.
"Obviously they feel that this is an extremely fantastic opportunity," said Jason Sabow, Davidson's assistant director of marketing and promotions. "They wanted to do something great for the students. We wanted to make sure we had a good fan base and support for our men's basketball team."
Davidson President Tom Ross e-mailed students on Wednesday afternoon with the offer, which includes tickets to both weekend sessions at Ford Field, regardless of who is playing for a Final Four berth on Sunday. Transportation and two nights lodging is also included.
Students were asked to respond by 4 p.m. today if they wanted in.
"We've got four buses confirmed, so that's at least 200 kids, and I know they're trying acquire more buses," Sabow said this morning. "There was quite a buzz on campus yesterday."
Sabow -- a North Carolina native and graduate who did an internship in the UW athletic ticket office last year -- said it was Ross and the trustees who put the package together after the 10th-seeded Wildcats upset seventh-seeded Gonzaga and second-seeded Georgetown to earn a date in Detroit.
The offer garnered immediate coverage from the local media and was picked up nationally by The Associated Press. The extra attention caught the Davidson officials a bit off-guard.
"It's one of those things where from an administration standpoint you don't think about things like that," Sabow said. "It was kind of a shock.
"(But) if I was a student, I'd be excited as heck."
UW associate athletic director Vince Sweeney complimented the Badgers' opponent for the effort.
"I think it's a very nice gesture on their part," Sweeney said. "It'll be a nice experience for their kids.
Sweeney said UW's allotment of 1,250 tickets -- which included 160 allocated for students -- was spoken for by noon Monday.
Davidson's Sabow noted that the college had nearly sold out its regular ticket allotment before the student travel package was put together, so "this isn't a ticket boost just to get rid of our tickets," he said. "The president really wanted to do something for the students."
In his e-mail to the student body, Ross noted that Friday's classes will go on as scheduled and students should only consider making the trip if they can afford to miss a day of school.
Sabow said the fleet will depart at 6 a.m. Friday, which should allow plenty of time to make the 7:10 p.m. Eastern time tip-off. Mapquest charts the trip at a little over 10 hours.
The Davidson students will then spent the next two nights in various hotels -- Sabow said the campus police chief will be along as one of the chaperones -- and attend Sunday's regional championship game before returning to North Carolina. The plan is to arrive back on campus between 4 and 6 a.m. Monday, just in time for morning classes.
As one of three double-digit seeds remaining in the tournament -- No. 12 seeds Villanova and Western Kentucky are also still alive -- and the only team to beat two higher-seeded teams, Davidson has emerged as a media darling.
The campus has been invaded by ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, the New York Daily News, and the CBS Early Show, which did its national weather reports this morning live from -- get this -- Alvarez Union. (No, Badgers fans, the facility isn't named after UW athletic director Barry Alvarez; rather, it was funded by a gift from a San Antonio couple with that last name whose daughter attends Davidson.)
"It's been a big-time atmosphere," Sabow said. "Our merchandise sales our through the roof. We've been busy, but it's a good busy. We're hoping it continues."
