Davidson offering students free tickets, travel, lodging for Sweet 16, Elite 8

Sweet, indeed:

Davidson College students who want to go to Detroit to see their basketball team in the Sweet 16 can do so for free.

In an e-mail to students Wednesday, school President Tom Ross said the school's trustees will pay for tickets, travel and lodging for Davidson's Midwest Regional semifinal game Friday night against Wisconsin at Detroit's Ford Field. Students also get tickets to Sunday's regional final -- win or lose.

The gift will not come from Davidson's endowment, said Stacey Schmeidel, director of college communications. "At least one person on the board stepped up and said, `I want to do this for the students,' " Schmeidel said.

As of Wednesday night, hundreds of students had signed up for the offer, so many that college officials were scrambling for extra tickets and buses. The offer includes a 660-mile bus ride to Detroit leaving Friday morning and returning between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. Monday -- just in time for classes.

Heh. Awesome. (Hat tip: anonamom.)

The only downside: they aren't cancelling classes on Friday. The school's president urged students to "please consider going to the game ONLY if this is, academically, the right decision for you." Riiiiight.

UPDATE: Here's the full text of the president's e-mail, courtesy of Davidson blogger Will Bryan. But now it seems the school sent out "a second email a few hours later saying that not everyone who responded to the first will be able to go since they don't have enough tickets." Heh. That's according to AOL Fanhouse, quoting Bryan. A commenter on Bryan's site confirms:

They said they could give free tickets, transportation, and lodging to everyone, but now they are saying that they can't meet the student demand (and they should have certainly expected FULL demand). Things are really up in the air right now as people are hoping that Davidson will keep its word on this. A lot of people who were really excited are now pretty disappointed. Don't make promises you can't keep.

The commenter also quotes from the latest e-mail from the college: "We have been overwhelmed by the response. There will not be enough time before Friday morning to respond to each email. We are keeping track of the requests in the order they come in. If we have a ticket for you, we will email you directly on Thursday. ... We apologize, but we will not be able to take every student who wants to go to Detroit."

P.S. In other basketball-related news, I'd just like to clarify, in case anyone was wondering after last night's David Schnauzer Letterman Top Ten list, that the reason we've chosen to conceal Loyette's true first name on the blog is not because we named her "Gonzaga." ;)

Comments

[NDLauren]

That's a freaking awesome board member who stepped up to do that for the students! Would the donation at all play into any potential NCAA violations for other athletes at the school, or would they still be able to take advantage of the offer under NCAA rules since it is open to all students and isn't just targeting an athlete?

[Brendan Loy]

I'm fairly certain it would be OK because it's open to all students. That's what we were always told at USC's tutoring office, that the NCAA's standard for "extra benefits" is that it's an extra benefit if it's not available to all students, regardless of whether they're athletes. (Which, as I understand it, is why the tutoring office itself is OK -- because technically, any student can get tutoring services there, even though in actuality, it's only athletes who utilize it.)

[Brendan Loy]

Or maybe it's that tutoring services in general, though not necessarily through the same office (which is, after all, called "Student-Athlete Academic Services"), are available to all students. I'm not sure which rationale is the operative one.

But regardless, I do believe this Davidson thing would be okay under the "extra benefits" rule.

[NDLauren]

After the whole Reggie Bush thing, are we sure USC's word is the most appropriate one to take when thinking about the application of NCAA rules? :-) I kid, I kid...

[Brendan]

Heh. What are you talking about, Reggie Bush totally had a copy of the NCAA Rulebook on the top shelf of his gold-plated bookcase in his $100,000 home! :)

[David K.]

And Letterman continues to be not funny...

Brendan, in all seriousness, you should be upfront and honest, Loyette's first name might not be Gonzaga, but her middle name is!

[Brendan Loy]

Heh. :)

[Marty West]

"And Letterman continues to be not funny..."

What?! I hope that was a joke.

[David K.]

If it was a joke, it would be 10x funnier than anything that Letterman has done in years. That top 10 list was just sad.

[Marty West]

You can't base Letterman's funny factor on one top ten list. I watch pretty much every night and laugh every time.

[David K.]

I'm not basing it on one top ten list, i've watched the show and every time been dissapointed. That top-ten list is just an example. Personally I like Leno better, and think Conan is funnier than both.

[David K.]

Also, Paul Schafer is creepy as hell! :)

[Brendan Loy]

What are you, some sort of bald-people-hater? HAIRIST!!!

[David K.]

I do not hate bald people! Patrick Stewart is awesome, and Colin Mocherie is one of the funniest guys i've seen!

[LaRev]

I've already decided I'm naming my kids Gonzaga, Gonzaga Jr., and Hercules (or Dinosaur, I haven't decided).

[Brendan Loy]

Heh.

[anonamom]

My son chose his confirmation name from Gonzaga---Aloyisus--and the bishop got the connection!

[Brendan Loy]

Aloyisus? Hmm. That could be a potential blog-nickname for a baby boy someday. :)