Heather Mangan

The line, nearly 50 people deep, outside the ticket office at 12:59 p.m. March 13 could be a good indicator of what SDSU’s bid into the Women’s National Invitation Tournament means to Jackrabbit fans.

Tickets for SDSU’s first WNIT game went on sale at 1 p.m., 15 hours after Head Coach Aaron Johntson received the confirmation call. It only took an hour for all assigned seats to be sold, leaving only general admission open.Ticket Office staff couldn’t say how many tickets were sold or comment on sales when the office closed at 5 p.m.

Don Dezeeuw, Arlington, didn’t want to miss his opportunity, so he got in line, at the front, an hour before tickets were on sale

“We just think they are a really good team and we enjoy following them,” said the veteran fan, who has been following SDSU since the 1980s.

Dezeeuw said he’ll follow the Jacks as far as they go.

“We’ll cross that bridge when get to it. It’s one game at a time in this level,” he said.

The WNIT requires that tickets for these games be higher than regular season games. The prices will continue to rise as the Jacks progress through the tournament, said Sports Information Director Jason Hove.

The higher prices mean that students will have to pay for the postseason games. Student general admission tickets, $5 with student ID, can be purchased at the HPER Ticket Office, Info Exchange, gojacks.com or at the door. Student seating will remain the same.

The WNIT also requires between 5 and 10 percent of seats be reserved for visiting opponents, said Associate Athletic Director Rob Peterson.

SDSU projected to the WNIT that attendance will be about 3,500, but Hove expects to have an NDSU-like crowd, which was 4,132.

#1.883690:3664367496.jpg:ticketbooth1.jn.jpg:Jackrabbits fans line up outside the Ticket Office in the HPER on March 13 to purchase tickets to SDSU’s first WNIT game at Frost Arena.: