In 2019, Indiana was headed to the National Invitational Tournament. Missing the *real* tournament for the third year in a row was something many IU faithful fans were not pleased about it.
Despite missing the Big Dance, the Hoosiers were hosting the first couple rounds of the NIT tournament.
Tickets were going for around $15, so IU alum, Josh Bruick, saw this as an opportunity to get as many first time IU fans into Assembly Hall.
“Growing up I didn’t have the means–my family didn’t have the means–to come to Indiana basketball games,” Bruick said. “But as I started my professional career and gained the ability to come to games, I started taking my family to games and I realized quickly how much that cost. I’m not a season ticket holder, so I always had to get tickets on the secondhand market if you will, and pay a lot of money for tickets, but it was something that I wanted to do and could do. But I realized quickly after spending $500 on a day of taking my family to a game that there’s probably a lot of people who can’t do that, and this place is worth sharing.”
The famous Martha the Mop Lady account put out a tweet, encouraging fans who had never been to Assembly Hall to reach out to her to get tickets to go to one of the NIT game.
“It was a chance to send a lot of people that had never been in this building into a game.”
And it grew from there. Josh connected with Martha the Mop Lady, Amanda Pavelka, and Jason Gerdom to start the official 501C Non-Profit Hoosier Ticket Project.
Now, families who otherwise could not afford the outing are able to attend football and men and women’s basketball games free of charge.
Hoosier Ticket Project even has events called Weekend at the Rock, where kids from the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization can attend a weekend full of tours of Memorial Stadium, and lots of tailgating.
All four founders work tirelessly to make the Hoosier Ticket Project work, and Co-Founder and Director of Engagement Amanda Pavelka serves as the liason between the non-profit and the community. She works with donors, as well as youth organizations like the Boys and Girls Club, and Big Brother, Big Sister
“I work with youth organizations to get kids to games who obviously wouldn’t have the opportunity. I also really engage with our donors, showing them the impact their tickets will make.”
They give back to all sorts of people, one person in particular being Giovanni Hamilton, a 16-year-old boy who suffers from Schwartz-Jampel Syndrome.
Amanda and the rest of Hoosier Ticket Project were able to send him to a game in Assembly Hall and he said it was the most fun he’s ever had at a sporting event.
The Hoosier Ticket Project aims to share with everyone the thrills and magic of Indiana athletics. With it, those who cannot normally afford to go but wish to, now have the opportunity to do so.
