Iowa alleges false pretenses, invalidates Illinois students’ tickets to basketball game

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - The University of Iowa Athletics Department said it invalidated the ticket sales for the Illinois student section for the men’s basketball game at Carver Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, saying the ticket purchases were made under false pretenses.

In a tweet on Wednesday, the Iowa Athletics Department said the discounted group ticket order was made on behalf of an Illinois chapter of the Boys and Girls Club.

However, after following up with the organization, and the person who bought the tickets, the university said it learned the purchase was made by the Orange Krush, the Illinois student group, falsely under the name of the Boys and Girls Club.

The University of Iowa said that’s what caused it to refund the ticket purchases, and donated the tickets to the Boys and Girls Club of Cedar Rapids, ensuring a sold-out crowd at the game.

The Orange Krush, put out a statement on Twitter claiming the university invalidated the tickets because of a mistake it made, and out of fear of the Orange Krush student group.

In the post by the Orange Krush, it said 150 students had fundraised more than $2,600 for a local charity in order to go on the trip, and had received the tickets in the mail in October.

The student group said it will lose nearly $6,000, because the date of the ticket cancellation was too close to the date of the trip to cancel the charter buses and receive a full refund.

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