The NCAA has announced a new ticket purchase process for the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, effective with the 2013 championship at the CONSOL Energy Center April 11 and 13 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The ticket purchase process, approved by the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee, will now be conducted beginning Oct. 1 and will no longer involve submitting an application for the opportunity to purchase tickets. Instead, ticket purchasers will be invited to purchase tickets, based on their priority level, and select their own seat locations at the time of the order submission.
“This new system gives our priority ticket holders something tangible,” said Sean Frazier, chair of the Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee and deputy athletics director at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “A lot of people never fully understood what priority status got them. Now, with this new system it leaves no doubt because they will be able to pick their exact seat location first.”
An individual’s priority level is determined by the number of Frozen Four championships he/she has purchased tickets to through the NCAA ticket application process, beginning with the 1997 championship in Milwaukee through the 2012 championship in Tampa. Ticket purchasers are awarded one priority point for each year tickets have been purchased in his/her name.
Each priority level will be given a designated date to begin the ticket purchase process. Individuals with the highest priority level will be invited to purchase tickets starting Oct. 1. Individuals with the next highest priority level will have the opportunity to purchase tickets shortly thereafter, and so on until the available inventory has been sold. Ticket purchasers will receive an e-mail approximately one week prior to the designated purchase date for their priority level with an invitation and instructions for purchasing tickets. Each priority ticket purchaser is limited to a maximum of four tickets.
All orders must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, Friday, Nov. 30, and tickets will be mailed in late February 2013.
Under the previous system established in 2002, seat assignments were determined based on the ticket purchaser’s priority level. But that location was not determined by the buyer. Fans also had to purchase tickets almost a full year in advance from the event and seat locations were not known until the tickets arrived in March.
“When the Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee came up with the original system in 2002, it was done to ensure that we were rewarding the loyalty of our most avid fans,” said Lori Wolf, NCAA associate director for championships and alliances, ticketing. “However, with the new tweaks, it really takes the ticket-buying and seat selection experience to the next level. We really feel this will be a big hit with our fans.”
Those interested in the opportunity to purchase tickets for the 2013 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, but do not currently have an existing account/priority level, are invited to visit http://www.ncaa.com/frozenfourtickets to complete a registration form with their contact information. Any individual who registers their contact information prior to Oct. 1 will be sent an invitation to purchase any remaining tickets.
