The 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship First/Second Rounds, also known as “March Madness,” begin Friday at San Diego State’s Viejas Arena.
Classes were cancelled for the day as eight teams prepared to go head to head. Friday’s winners will play again on Sunday.
Parking on SDSU’s west side — lots 7, 12, 6 and 3 — will be reserved for tournament attendees at a cost of $15 per vehicle.
The last time March Madness was held at SDSU was in 2014.
Senior Associate Athletic Director of Communications and Media Relations Mike May explained how SDSU was selected to host March Madness once again.
“San Diego State submitted a bid to host the first and second-round games, and the NCAA awarded SDSU a site,” May said.
Teams and spectators can expect to see similar vendors that are at SDSU home basketball games at Viejas Arena. However, merchandise purchasing will be different than usual home games.
“The vendors inside the arena will be similar to a regular-season San Diego State game with the exception of merchandise,” said May. “That area is handled by vendors selected through the NCAA.”
However, fans and spectators should not expect much difference in terms of entertainment and events between this year’s March Madness and the 2014 March Madness.
“From a fan perspective, it will be very similar to 2014,” May said.
Depending on the website you purchase from, ticket prices for this year’s March Madness range from $89 to $900+. They can be bought on various websites such as Ticketmaster, StubHub, Vividseats and NCAA Ticket Exchange.
Accounting junior Nick Trezza thinks hosting the March Madness tournament is good for SDSU.
“SDSU will be able to get a lot more exposure because of this tournament,” said Trezza. “SDSU has been climbing up ranks in public universities, to try be at the top. This is awesome for our school.”
Criminal justice sophomore Sami Talansky thinks this will be a cool experience for the school, but thinks ticket prices should be adjusted.
“Tickets are really expensive,” Talansky said. “Since it’s at our school, us students should get free tickets.”
However, Talansky notes that March Madness is huge for college basketball.
“This is super exciting because March Madness is huge and it’s fun to watch whether it’s at your school or not.”
