Insight Bowl tickets free to students

The IU football team paid a price all season, and their reward is a 13th game on New Year’s Eve against Oklahoma State in Tempe, Ariz. \nDie-hard IU football fans have also paid a price for 14 years, watching team after team fall short of a bowl game before this year’s success. The reward for current IU students is a free ticket to the Insight Bowl.\nAny IU student can reserve their free ticket by calling 866-IUSPORTS or 812-855-4006. The last day students have to reserve their seat is Dec. 15, which is also the priority seating deadline for the general public.\n“We looked at the situation, we said for our students to make a trip out to Arizona, if there’s a way we can help them out and make it more palatable, we wanted to do that,” said Assistant Director of Athletics for External Operations Frank Cuervo. \nThe opportunity for students to receive a free ticket was good news for IU coach Bill Lynch. In a public statement, Lynch praised the students for their support throughout the season.\n“Our students were phenomenal this season, and I want to thank them for their tremendous support,” Lynch said. “You could feel their energy and buzz every time we stepped onto the field, and we hope that is the case in Tempe.”\nCuervo said the funding for the free \ntickets came from a number of sources, including the Big Ten and the University. He added that some of the money to pay for the tickets is derived from the bowl fees IU pays to play in the game. \nWhile the tickets are free, transportation and lodging are not. Cuervo said the best way for students to arrange the rest of the trip would be to go to www.iuhoosiers.com. The Web site provides travel packages and has access to the Ritz-Carlton in Phoenix – the official IU hotel – as well as neighboring hotels in the area. \nFreshman Patrick Osborne, a season ticket holder, said even with a free ticket, he would not be making the trip to Tempe. Osborne said the trip would still be too costly.\n“It’s New Year’s Eve – I kind of want to get home for that,” Osborne said. “I’m a fan of the team, but I’m not like a die-hard fan.” \nJunior Kyle Rohr echoed Osborne, admitting it would be fun to make the trip but saying there are too many obstacles.\n“Arizona would be great, but it’s too close to New Year’s,” Rohr said. “There’s not enough cash flow to travel that far, especially around the holiday season.”\nEven with the costs for transportation not included and it being on a holiday, Cuervo said he expects to see a lot of Hoosier students in Tempe come New Year’s Eve. \n“Right now we’ve sold about 3,000 tickets for the Insight Bowl,” Cuervo said. “Of those 3,000, almost 500 have been students. We’re looking to have a really strong student contingent out in Arizona.”\nOne contingent of Hoosiers that is not expected to be in Tempe is the legion of tailgaters usually present at IU home games. Junior David Cochran said even with a free ticket as incentive, flying to Arizona is not appealing.\n“I really don’t even go to the games here, I’m a tailgater,” Cochran said. “It just seems kind of weird to say that I’d go all the way out there just to go to the game, when I don’t go to the games here.”\nThe IU Athletics Ticket Office is open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Students must have a student ID to pick up a ticket at Sun Devil Stadium the day of the game. Student tickets will not be mailed.