Basketball: Jays plan limited ticket giveaway

Creighton's plan to award a limited number of complimentary men's basketball season tickets to people facing difficult circumstances possibly will lead to some tough decisions for athletic department officials.

Under the program announced last week, individuals or families that have had a recent change in economic circumstances or that don't have the financial means to attend games would be eligible for a limited number of upper bowl season tickets for this season.

“From the applications we've already received, I can see that picking the ones that are deserving will be difficult because they all have merit,'' Creighton Athletic Director Bruce Rasmussen said. “And even though we really haven't publicized it, we've already received a good response. And we're hoping for more.''

Fans have until Oct. 15 to nominate themselves or others by filling out a form available on gocreighton.com, the school's athletic department Web site.

Rasmussen said he's uncertain how many tickets will be awarded for this season's games.

“At this point, the number is fluid,'' he said. “Obviously, we can't give out 3,000, but we also don't want to say we're only going to give out 10 and then get 50 really compelling nominations.''

The idea to award the tickets mirrors programs conducted by other schools and professional organizations. The Arizona Diamondbacks this season gave out 41 season tickets to 18 families. The “ticket scholarships'' were worth a total of $100,000.

Rasmussen said Creighton decided to adopt a similar plan after he had heard from several season-ticket holders who informed him they would not be able to renew because the recent economic downturn had affected them.

“A lot of people are facing difficult times, whether it's because of the economy or because of a medical problem or other circumstances leave them unable to afford the cost of tickets,'' Rasmussen said. “We wanted to do something to help out.''

Rasmussen said when Tony Barone coached the Bluejays in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Barone often would reward individuals who had performed kind or heroic deeds for others with complimentary game tickets.

“Tony would drop them a note thanking them for their deed,'' Rasmussen said. “And in appreciation, he would include a couple of tickets for a game. I had something like that in mind when we first started discussing what we could do.

“Someone else in our staff meeting brought up the ticket scholarship idea, and it just grew from there.”

Fans may access the nomination form here. The nomination forms may be submitted online or by fax 402-280-3373. They also may be dropped off at the Ryan Athletic Center ticket office or mailed to Barb Epps, Ryan Athletic Center Ticket Office, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, 68178.

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

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