MVC releases pre-sale Arch Madness numbers

The Missouri Valley Conference sent pre-sale ticket numbers — those purchased before Jan. 1) from each of its 10 member schools to the media on Monday.

No surprises — UE, the smallest MVC school by enrollment, is near the bottom of the list, while Creighton tops it.

Arch Madness, the MVC men’s basketball tournament, runs from March 7-10 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

Bradley – 150
Creighton – 4,000
Drake – 150
Evansville – 200
Illinois State – 400
Indiana State – 150
Missouri State – 150
Northern Iowa – 410
Southern Illinois – 300
Wichita State – 1,019

The 4,000 tickets sold by Creighton are a record for pre-sales by one institution. Also, this year’s sales were second all-time, behind only 2008′s Arch Madness (7,209).

All-session tickets to Arch Madness start at $115. Single-session tickets go on sale Jan. 21.

Going back to what UE senior Colt Ryan said in October when asked why Aces fans should go to Arch Madness: “We plan to be there three nights this year.”