Tickets going fast as NIU heads to Detroit
Fans cheer on the Huskies Nov. 13 during the game aginst Ball State. The football team is headed to Detroit Friday for the MAC Championship game — NIU’s fourth consecutive appearance in the match — but NIU’s student travel package has already sold out. The package offered a round trip, meal and entry to the game. NIU does not currently have an alternative plan to help students get to the game.
December 3, 2013
Students were so eager to see the Huskies play in the MAC Championship game Friday that tickets for the round trip package were sold out by Monday morning.
NIU arranged for five buses to take students to see the football team play in Detroit for the championship game. The bus trip is part of a package that includes a round trip, meal and game. NIU sold about 250 tickets for $13.
Jill Zambito, Student Involvement and Leadership Development director, said she thinks students’ excitement to see the Huskies play was a huge contributor to how fast the tickets sold out.
“I think it’s due to the success of the football team because they are amazing and they’re really fun to watch, so I think that students are caught up in Huskie spirit and really want to support the team,” Zambito said. “We’ve also had a couple other fan buses go to other games, as well, and those have also been successful.”
The Huskies were undefeated this season, closing out 12-0. They now head to Detroit to play the Bowling Green Falcons. The game is 7 p.m. Friday at Ford Field.
Some students did not hear about the tickets being sold. Freshman pre-rehabilitation major Marisa Tarsa said she didn’t know about the fan buses NIU offered until it was too late.
“I kind of feel a little discouraged that I didn’t hear about NIU having the tickets for the bus to go to the away games because I was kind of thinking I would do that after I just found out,” Tarsa said.
While the fan bus tickets may be sold out, game tickets are not and students can still get into the game free if they travel to Detroit.
“At this point NIU has no alternative way to help students get to the game — that’s why students should act fast — but the game tickets are free, so if they can find each other and carpool together I’m sure there will be tons of students going on their own,” Zambito said.
“We just want to encourage students to attend the game even if they have to go on their own because it’s only a six-hour drive, and I really think there would be a lot of interesting carpooling.”