Skip navigation

$10,000 to watch Memphis-Tennessee?

Even coaches joke about ‘begging’ for tickets to No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup

  Ask the college hoops expert: Ken Davis

Have a question about your favorite team or player? Submit it now, then check our reader mailbag every other Tuesday starting in Nov.

Slideshow
Notre Dame v UCLA
  Three cheers for Madness
Take a look at cheerleaders in action during the NCAA tournament and more.

more photos

Slide show
Image: Ding Jianjun
  Week in Sports Pictures
Pain on the skating rink, flying high on the hardwood, upsets on the football field, and more.

more photos

updated 4:18 p.m. ET Feb. 19, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl picked up the phone and called Memphis coach John Calipari.

“He was begging me for tickets,” Calipari said Tuesday. “And I told him no.”

Calipari was joking, of course, but he never passes a chance to take a swipe at the Volunteers. On Saturday, the No. 1 Tigers face No. 2 Tennessee in Memphis, the first time since 1998 the nation’s top two teams from the same state play each other.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

And everyone wants to come.

Calipari said Pearl was asking for Tennessee alum and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, among others. Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson granted the request, Calipari said, but he just wanted to make Pearl sweat.

“Tickets are going online like they’re Super Bowl tickets,” Calipari said during a conference call. “It’s incredible.”

As of Tuesday, tickets were going for as much as $10,000 on Stubhub. The game’s timing has a lot to do with the soaring demand.

It’s the highest ranking either team has earned, and ESPN’s College Gameday will be broadcasting from the game.

“Some people still think it was an ESPN conspiracy,” Calipari cracked.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored links