Freshman tenter Tristan Patterson put a price tag on the invaluable when he attempted Feb. 16 to sell his ticket to the Duke-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill game for $3,000 over the Internet. He was quickly exposed by a line monitor's sting.
Patterson, an economics major from Raleigh, was offering his wristband, Duke ID and position in the tenting line, according to his advertisement on Craigslist. The package would allow the buyer to enter the Duke-UNC game in Cameron Indoor Stadium alongside the first 200 students admitted.
"Duke's student section is courtside and possibly the most amazing college basketball experience," Patterson wrote in the ad.
He stressed that the buyer should be young enough to pass as a student, although he guaranteed a suitable ID match regardless of the buyer's physical appearance.
The following day, a 20 year old named "Tim" expressed interest and began regular correspondence with Patterson. The two mulled over payment details and identification logistics, ultimately agreeing to a $3,000 money order.
Early Monday morning Patterson received another e-mail. This one, however, was addressed to all members of Tent 16 and came from head line monitor Lauren Troyer, a senior.
"This is the most disgraceful and greedy act in the history of K-ville," Troyer wrote to the tenters. "Tenting is a time-honored tradition, not a business."
She then notified the 12-person group, which had been tenting since Jan. 9, that they had forfeited all tenting privileges.
The punishment was eventually retracted for all except Patterson, who fell victim to an investigative sting orchestrated by Cameron loyals. "Tim," the client operating under the electronic guise bluedevilcrazy@hotmail.com, was actually Jeff Kovacs-a former usher in Krzyzewskiville. Kovacs informed line monitors of the Craigslist post and continued to probe Patterson to verify that the freshman was serious about the transaction. Once the two agreed on a payment plan, Troyer intervened.
"There is a clause in the tenting rules that the head line monitor can enact emergency policy to deal with extenuating circumstances," Troyer said. "I thought this was applicable, so I acted."
Troyer has prohibited Patterson from attending the UNC game, will not let his tent replace him and plans to alert future line monitors of Patterson's actions.
Troyer said Patterson disrespected men's basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski and the entire Duke basketball program. She added that she is obligated to ensure that this does not happen in the future.
While admitting his guilt, Patterson stressed that his actions did not undermine his devotion to Duke basketball.
"I was giving my ticket to someone who obviously wanted to be there, and any profits were going to fund my trip to the Final Four," Patterson said.
He added that this is not the first time student tickets have been sold for a profit. He was motivated by a website on which UNC students scalped tickets for as much as $300 and by rumors that the same thing had happened two years ago at Duke.
Donald Wine, Trinity '04, the head line monitor two seasons ago, dispelled such rumors. "Yes, someone put their spot in the tenting line on eBay when I was line monitor, but it was done as a joke with no intention of selling," said Wine, adding that bids on the wristband reached figures more than $10,000 before the offer was pulled from the website.
But incidents of student scalping are not limited to Patterson or even to years past. Currently on Craigslist, Duke fans can purchase two graduate student passes to the UNC game for $500 and $1,500, respectively. The potential scalpers remain unpunished.
"That doesn't bother me," Patterson said of the double-standard. "It's an inevitable reality. I guess I was just unlucky enough to be singled out."
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