TICKET GUIDELINES FOR THE 2026 NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
As the Illinois Men’s Basketball team prepares for the upcoming postseason, below are guidelines so all fans of the Fighting Illini know what to expect when attempting to secure NCAA Tournament tickets through the Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics.
U OF I TICKET ALLOTMENT
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament committee allocates a pre-arranged number of game tickets to participating schools, regardless of the school’s geographical location or national ranking. Each school with a team in the tournament receives an equal quantity and quality of game tickets. At the University of Illinois, a percentage of the tickets are designated for sale ONLY to U of I student season ticket holders/Orange Krush, band and cheerleaders. A remaining portion of the non-student tickets are then assigned to player families, coaches and administration. This leaves only a portion of the non-student ticket allotment available for sale. These remaining tickets are then available to sell to I FUND members.
TICKET REQUESTS
Ticket requests for the First/Second Rounds will be available starting Sunday, March 15. The deadline to join the I FUND and receive access to request tickets is Thursday, March 5 at 5 PM. The deadline to place First/Second Round ticket requests is Monday, March 16 at 4 PM CT. Ticket requests are filled and assigned based upon I FUND membership level and priority points, not based upon when the request is placed.
Receipt of a ticket request does not guarantee purchase. Fans should wait until orders are confirmed by the Illinois Ticket Office.
Below are ticket request windows for each weekend of the NCAA Tournament that will open as the Illini advance. The request windows for the Regionals and Final Four rounds are dependent on the game date and will be updated before the request window opens.
HOW TICKETS ARE ASSIGNED
Tickets will be assigned based on each individual’s I FUND membership level and priority points. Members are ranked first by membership level, beginning with Hall of Fame members. Tickets will be assigned until either 100% of Hall of Fame member’s requests are filled, or until there are no tickets remaining. If tickets remain after all Hall of Fame requests have been filled, orders from the next highest club, Loyalty Circle Platinum, will then be filled in the same manner. This process will continue, club by club, until all orders have been filled, or until no tickets remain. Based upon the expected demand for tickets from members, we anticipate running out of tickets prior to filling all requests from I FUND members.
PRIORITY POINTS
The University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics values the loyalty of its customers. The Priority Points System honors the consistent long-time support of Illini fans by recognizing season ticket purchases as well as their level of financial support.
Priority Points are awarded based on the following categories:
• One’s cumulative lifetime donation amount to the I FUND. 1 point is awarded for every dollar given.
• The number of consecutive years one has purchased (football and/or men’s basketball) season tickets. 1000 points* awarded for each consecutive year
* Failure to renew football or men’s basketball season tickets in any given year will result in priority points for that sport being reset to 0.
CURRENT I FUND MEMBERS
Make sure your I FUND account is paid and in good standing no later than March 5. If you want to enhance and maximize your priority points total, consider upgrading your account by making a gift online.
HOW TO BE AN I FUND MEMBER
As you can see, membership has its privileges, and what better time to show your support for Fighting Illini student-athletes? Join today.
CONDITIONS
Digital tickets will be delivered to the account holder of record. Any subsequent transfers to friends or family must be completed by the account holder using the ticketing platform of the host venue.
PAYMENT
Payment method will be collected at the time a request is made. Credit cards for confirmed purchases will be charged automatically at the end of the request window. No charge will be made for unfulfilled requests. All sales are final once the order has been confirmed.
DISTRIBUTION
No paper tickets will be available. Further details regarding digital ticket distribution will be communicated via email at the time orders are confirmed.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREPARE?
Have your account number ready when you place your request. Requesting your tickets on your established account ensures that your I FUND Membership Level and priority points are used to determine your ranking. Requests can be placed online. Remember: ticket requests are filled based upon I FUND Member priority, not based upon when the request is placed.
HELP US SERVE YOU
It is important to place all requests directly with the Illinois Ticket Office during the assigned request period. During March Madness there are very short windows of time between rounds. We ask all members to follow these guidelines for an organized and successful allocation of tickets. We do not expect to have the ability to solve last-minute ticketing requests.
RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY
The University of Illinois and the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics are not responsible for any travel, hotel, or other expense incurred by customers in anticipation of receipt of tickets for any games of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
QUESTIONS
Call the Office of Athletic Development at 217-333-6595, or the Illinois Ticket Office at 217-333-3470 or 1-866-ILLINI-1.
