More than 600 Duke University students are headed to Indianapolis to watch their beloved Blue Devils play West Virginia Saturday night in the semifinals of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
The rest of the Duke student body is invited to watch the game inside Cameron Indoor Stadium, where the game will be shown on the video scoreboard.
In an e-mail to students Wednesday, Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs, wrote, "What better way to celebrate a beautiful spring weekend than to cheer on the Duke men's basketball team to another national championship?
"To those of you planning to attend the game in person in Indianapolis, I wish you safe travels and loud voices! For the rest of you who will root from here, I invite you to watch the games from Cameron Indoor Stadium where we can cheer and celebrate together."
The viewing of the semifinals game Saturday at Cameron is only open to Duke undergraduate, graduate and professional students with IDs. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m.; tip-off is around 8:45 p.m. There are no provisions for public viewing of the game on campus.
There is no permit for a post-game victory bonfire Saturday.
Should Duke advance to the national championship game Monday night, the situation in Cameron would remain the same -- a viewing party open only to Duke students. Monday's game will start sometime after 9; doors to Cameron will open at 8 p.m.
And if Duke should win the national championship, the Durham Fire Marshal is expected to issue a permit for a bonfire, which would take place in the West Campus residential quadrangle.
Also Monday night, all entrances to West Campus will be closed around 9. Only Duke students and their spouses/partners, employees and alumni with appropriate identification, as well as news media with Duke-issued press badges, will be permitted on campus.
If Duke plays in Monday's national championship game, there will also be a community celebration (win or lose) welcoming the basketball team home around 2 p.m. Tuesday in Cameron. The event is open to the public; parking on campus will be limited. Doors to Cameron will open at 12:30 p.m.
And, finally, if Duke loses to West Virginia in the semi-finals, the final game will not be shown in Cameron and there will no "Welcome Home" celebration.
If you can't be at Indy or inside Cameron, you can still find plenty of tournament T-shirts and other merchandise on campus.
Duke University Stores plans to expand its hours over the weekend and possibly into next week. The stores, including at the Bryan Center, the Team Store at Card Gym and at East Campus Union, will have some 25,000 T-shirts to sell Tuesday morning if Duke wins the championship, said Tom Craig, merchandise manager for the stores. The stores are already stocked with Final Four merchandise.
"If you took school rush, homecoming, parents weekend, graduation, spring alumni weekend and put it all in one day, this is what we have," Craig said.
For more information on merchandise and store hours, visit http://dukestores.duke.edu/.