FARGO -- North Dakota State is expecting the same demand as last year for national championship game tickets, but less confusion.
NDSU has started taking ticket requests for the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision title game, which is set for Jan. 5 in Frisco, Texas. The defending champion Bison will face Sam Houston State, a rematch of last year's game. The game will be played in the 20,086-seat FC Dallas Stadium.
"The biggest thing is that we did everything in our power to make clear that it is a request and not a purchase," said NDSU ticket manager Josh Hemingway.
Hemingway said before last year's title game, some people thought putting in a ticket request meant they would get tickets.
Hemingway said Monday the school had received around 8,000 ticket requests, a similar number to last season.
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NDSU athletic director Gene Taylor said the school will have around 4,800 tickets to distribute, around the same amount as last year. A priority points system will again be used to decide who gets tickets.
"More and more people are understanding it the more we use it," Taylor said of the priority points.
Priority points are earned through donations and consecutive years of support. For example, one point is earned for every $50 contribution to Team Makers. Also one point can be earned for each consecutive year of buying season tickets in a variety of sports.
A limit of 10 tickets can be requested per account. The deadline for a request is 4 p.m. today. The cost is from $45 to $50 per ticket. Applicants will be notified via email by 8 p.m. Saturday regarding the status of their request.
Tickets must be paid for by 4 p.m. Dec. 26.
Student tickets will be available through student government and reservations will happen electronically at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Students should watch the NDSU Student Listserv early next week for further details.
Taylor said around 400 tickets will be available for students. Another portion of the NDSU ticket allotment will go to players, coaches and staff members. Those tickets will come out of the NDSU ticket allotment.
Taylor said the school lobbied for more tickets after the high demand from last year's title game, but received around the same amount.
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Taylor expects more NDSU fans to have tickets to this year's title game because many already purchased tickets through the NCAA website. That block of around 7,400 tickets sold out in October.
"Our fans from last year probably reached out and bought tickets that were available on the NCAA website," Taylor said. "I'm sure we will have more fans with tickets (than last year). But our requests will still be more than our allotment."
The third-party route is another option, but can get expensive. StubHub had more than 400 tickets available as of Monday afternoon, ranging from $120 to tickets listed at $3,100 each. Tickets are also being listed on Craigslist and eBay.
