College Football
Wednesday, December 15
Ducks fans not flying south
Associated Press

EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon and Oregon State are selling tickets for their respective bowl games at about the same pace, which isn't good for the Ducks: They're on the hook for a lot more seats, and school officials admit they won't reach the mark.

As of Monday, Oregon had sold a little more than 3,000 tickets for the Sun Bowl, to be played Dec. 31 in El Paso, Texas. But the university took on a commitment for 8,000 tickets.

"We certainly hope to sell some more, but I would venture to guess that the majority of our sales have been made," said sports information director Dave Williford. "Probably the majority of people traveling (to El Paso) have made their final plans already."

In Corvallis, the Beavers are expected to sell their commitment of 3,000 tickets for the Oahu Bowl in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Christmas Day -- the first postseason appearance for Oregon State since the 1965 Rose Bowl.

The Beavers originally were allotted 7,500 tickets until they learned that their opponent will be Hawaii. Hometown demand for tickets is so strong that OSU released about half of its allotment to the Rainbows.

"It's surpassed our expectations," said Joe Sharpe, director of the OSU ticket office.

UO now is concentrating on selling souvenir tickets to people interested in supporting the team. Money from the tickets will help pay for the Sun Bowl trip, and the actual seats will be donated to underprivileged children in the El Paso area.

The university realized from the start that it wouldn't sell all the tickets it was allocated and figured that into its budget, Williford said.

Although the university will have to pay for any seats it doesn't sell, the trip is still expected to turn a profit. Any ticket shortfall will be deducted from the $1 million payout the UO gets for playing in the bowl.

But that payout also has to cover all the university's expenses for the game, including the team's travel costs.

"Are we going to lose money on the Sun Bowl? No," Williford said. "But are we going to have hundreds of thousands of dollars in excess? Well, probably not."

Williford said UO fans, who have seen the team go to five bowls in the past six years, might be passing up seats in the Duck booster section and shopping for better but more expensive seats from the Sun Bowl ticket office.

Unfortunately, tickets sold to Duck fans through the Sun Bowl ticket office don't count against Oregon's allotment, Williford said.

"We're urging those thinking about going to the game to call us for tickets rather than calling El Paso," he said.

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