Northern Illinois to Provide Students With Free Tickets to Orange Bowl

By Michael Amato

 

Andrew Weber – USA TODAY Sports

 

Things just keep getting better for Northern Illinois Huskies fans. The school has announced that they will give any student who wants to head to the Orange Bowl a free ticket to the game. Students will still have to travel to Miami on their own dime, but a free ticket to a BCS Bowl game is certainly a nice gesture. The school will also be offering travel packages on its website to make it easier for fans to get to the game.

Although this year the Huskies made it to a BCS Bowl, this is not the first time the school has made this type of offer in regards to free tickets. Northern Illinois is making its fifth straight bowl appearance and they have provided students with free tickets to each of those games as well. It may be a little easier to convince fans to head to the game this year with the BCS spot, and the fact that leaving Illinois in the dead of winter for Florida is definitely an attractive option.

Other schools do similar things when it comes to bowl appearances. There was a story a few days ago about an anonymous donor that gave Notre Dame $375,000 so their students could purchase tickets at $150 instead of $300, to see the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the National Championship game.

Schools typically end up losing money with these games, however. Bowls force each school to purchase a block of tickets and then they lose the money on any they can’t sell. In Northern Illinois’ case that is surely the last of their concerns. Making it to the Orange Bowl is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the MAC school and they will be anxious to show the country what they can do against the Florida State Seminoles on a big stage.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter at @amato_mike

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