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Most University of Louisville students watched the first two rounds of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament from the comfort of their couch. As the Cardinals go deeper it appears U of L students plan to hit the road.

Many circumstances kept students from going to witness the U of L victories against Boise State University and Oklahoma University. Junior sports administration major Mike Price noted the Easter holiday and the recent spring break as keeping a lot of students away from Birmingham.

“A lot of the students just came back from Spring Break and they emptied out their bank accounts on their vacationing that now most didn’t have the money to make the trip to Alabama,” said Price who watched the game with his brothers from Lambda Chi fraternity.

Some students, like sophomore sports administration major and L-Raiser Chynna Hibbitts, were lucky enough to make the trip south.

Hibbitts, who got her tickets from the lottery held at school, was disappointed with location of the student seating. She said that her seats were located in the very last row of the arena.

For those students and Cardinal fans in attendance, a pep rally was held at a ballroom at the convention center where the games took place. The LadyBirds, cheerleaders, Cardinal Bird, members of the athletic department and President Dr. James R. Ramsey were all present at the rally. According to Hibbitts the most underrepresented demographic at the rally were students, whom she saw very few of.

Despite a lack of visibility from students, Hibbitts thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

“Being at Birmingham was awesome, the city is very welcoming and I just enjoyed the whole trip,” said Hibbitts who notes she plans to follow the team to Charlotte.

Junior Co-Director of Athletic Affairs for the Student Government Association Ryan Nebel traveled to Birmingham as a representative of SGA. He said he only saw a handful of students at the game, but understood that the holiday likely deterred the students.

“We hope to have a better showing at Charlotte,” said Nebel who estimated there were about 5,000 empty seats at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena.

Senior Co-Director of Athletic Affairs for SGA Zach Brooks said the athletic department has allotted 150 student ticket packages for the East region games held this weekend in Charlotte, with 100 of those including hotel accommodations. The cost is being subsidized by SGA and the President’s office.

The Cardinals match up with No. 2 seed University of Tennessee; will be held Thursday, March 27 at Charlotte Bobcats Arena with the winner playing on Saturday.

“Tennessee should be very scared because while they were struggling to get by we were more than taking care of business,” said freshman sports administration major Cole McKeel who referenced Tennessee being taken to overtime by No. 7 seed Butler University. McKeel adds that he plans on driving with a large group to Charlotte to watch Thursday’s match up.

Those like McKeel who plan on making the trip can expect around a seven and a half hour ride, as the trip to Charlotte is just-under 500 miles.

Regardless if students watch the game from their couch or the bleachers, they are excited about the Cardinals tournament run.

“They have finally bought into Pitino’s system and they are hitting on ally cylinders going into their toughest game,” said senior exercise science major Len Coughlin.