INDIANAPOLIS --- The NCAA today announced that it has selected RazorGator Experiences, as its official ticket, hospitality and hotel package provider and Fan2Fan Ticket Exchange for the 2007 NCAA Men’s Final Four®.

The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship® is one of the most popular sporting events in the country with one of the most-sought-after tickets in the sporting industry.  RazorGator Experiences and the NCAA will work closely to create a comprehensive program tailored to meet the needs of NCAA basketball fans, the NCAA membership and other organizations and groups.  Services provided by RazorGator Experiences on behalf of the NCAA will include ticket and hospitality management and strategic marketing, including hotel accommodations, transportation, planning, catering, sales, entertainment, décor and other event management services.

“The NCAA agreement with RazorGator Experiences is the next in a series of strategic steps by the NCAA to reaffirm and elevate our commitment to our fan base, our membership and the many organizations that want an official Men’s Final Four experience,” said Greg Shaheen, NCAA senior vice-president for basketball and business strategies.

“RazorGator Experiences has the expertise and the resources to help the NCAA significantly reduce activities that taint the Men’s Final Four, such as the unauthorized sale of NCAA event tickets, which not only limit revenue for student-athlete programs, but also put our fan base at risk.  Ultimately, the agreement with RazorGator Experiences will be an added benefit of reassurance for those associated with the Men’s Final Four,” Shaheen said.

The NCAA entered the agreement with RazorGator Experiences to protect NCAA interests and further its branding surrounding the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship; to reinforce efforts to preserve the integrity of the championship, and to eliminate unauthorized third-party profit on the tournament, which reduces revenue for all NCAA member colleges and universities.  The NCAA returns approximately 94 cents of every dollar to its member schools, which includes revenue generated from tournament ticket sales.

The NCAA also has asked RazorGator Experiences to address another vexing problem that many fans attending the Men’s Final Four have faced in the past – unauthorized ticket sales to fans whose teams do not progress beyond the first day of the Men’s Final Four.  RazorGator Experiences will negotiate with fans on the resale of their game tickets via the Fan2Fan Ticket Exchange Program if they are unable to use their tickets or if their team loses in the semifinal basketball game.

“The NCAA is one of the most prestigious and highly regarded brands in the world of sports,” said David Lord, chief executive officer at RazorGator Interactive Group.  “The RazorGator Experiences brand is a full-service event experience company meeting the needs of elite and progressive organizations like the NCAA.  We are honored the NCAA entrusts RazorGator Experiences with its most popular event.” 

Additionally, basketball fans will have access to comprehensive ticket, hospitality and travel packages surrounding the Men’s Final Four.  RazorGator Experiences will work directly with individual fans, as well as groups and companies of any size, including NCAA Corporate Champions and Corporate Partners, to provide the opportunity to experience the NCAA Men’s Final Four at a level comparable to sanctioned hospitality programs available at major national sporting events.  .  The NCAA and CBS will continue to offer separate, special hospitality access to its Corporate Champions and Corporate Partners as part of the exclusive NCAA marketing program, managed by CBS. Official NCAA Corporate Champions and Corporate Partners are the only commercial entities that have the right to use the NCAA’s logo and marks in advertising, media, marketing and promotional activities around all 88 NCAA championships, including the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.

For more information, visit www.ncaasports.com/clubf4.

About RazorGator Experiences

RazorGator Experiences, a division of RazorGator Interactive Group, is the leading full-services event experience company in the sports and entertainment markets. RazorGator Experiences offers Hard-To-Getsm tickets, corporate and fan travel packages, corporate hospitality experiences, ticket exchanges and web-based platform programs to corporations, professional sports teams, consumers and suppliers.RazorGator Interactive Group, which operates RazorGator Experiences and RazorGator, is a venture-backed, privately-held company headquartered in Los Angeles, California with offices in Phoenix, Atlanta,  and India. Visit www.razorgatorexperiences.com or call 800.852.7771.

About the NCAA

The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed supporting academic and athletics opportunities for more than 380,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities. Each year, more than 49,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA Championships in Division I, II and III sports. Visit www.ncaa.org for more details about the Association, its goals and members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes. The NCAA is proud to have the following elite companies as official Corporate Champions—Cingular, Coca-Cola and Pontiac—and the following elite companies as official Corporate Partners—CompUSA, DiGiorno, Enterprise, The Hartford, Lowe’s and State Farm.