SB Nation blogger Sean Keeley said that he "raised enough money on Monday to send at least 500 underprivileged children and chaperones from Houston to the Texas Bowl" between Syracuse and Minnesota, according to Chris Carlson of the Syracuse POST-STANDARD. The children will "receive food vouchers, Orange T-shirts and seats near the SU band, filling in for SU fans who won't make the trip because of travel expenses or holiday plans." Keeley, an SU grad, launched the initiative "to collect that money from Syracuse fans." The collection will "send kids from the Houston Texans YMCA and from the DePelchin Children's Center, a local organization that provides mental health care, foster care and adoptive services." Keeley said that in less than six hours, his initiative "raised more than $11,000." The total by midnight "was $18,297.53, enough to send approximately 500 kids." The Texans were "looking for charities that could supply more kids." Keeley said that he "initially contacted Syracuse with the idea on Thursday and was instructed to work through the Texas Bowl." He set his "initial goal at 200 tickets." Texas Bowl Dir of Media Relations Amy Palcic said that the bowl will "supply tickets for all the kids Keeley's fundraising allows." The bowl "discounted tickets to $20, then offered to provide T-shirts and food vouchers for $5 each." The only "minor hiccup was Keeley's initial belief that since SU directed him to work with the bowl, the donations would go toward Syracuse's allotment of 4,000 tickets." But the bowl said that the money "would not." When the discrepancy was brought to his attention, Keeley said that he "contacted the Texas Bowl again and that the two sides are trying to work out something" (SYRACUSE.com, 12/17).
DOWN AND UNDER? LSU Dir of Ticket Operations Brian Broussard said that the school has "sold 6,000 of its allotted 12,000 tickets" to the Outback Bowl against Iowa. Meanwhile, Iowa Dir of Ticket Operations Pam Finke said that the school has "sold more than 10,000 of its 11,500 allotment." She added that the school will "request more tickets if the demand is high enough." Broussard admitted that LSU's ticket sales "have been slower than expected." In Baton Rouge, Ross Dellenger notes the LSU athletic department and the Tiger Athletic Foundation are "covering ticket costs for students who attended at least three regular-season home games and registered by Sunday." The school also is "distributing a prize each day until Dec. 26 to a fan who bought tickets" (Baton Rouge ADVOCATE, 12/18).
