Paying for wireless at the NCAA Tournament?

I had the same thought. Funny and sad at the same time.

 

Agreed, but the $10 fee is progress. I see that as a positive. It's crap, but it's less crap.

 

I'm covering the first-and-second-round women's games in Iowa City. The press area has ethernet hookups at every seat, but the NCAA told the university they have to turn them off.

Last year, when I was doing the women's games in Des Moines, if you used the password for the wireless that you used at the state high school tournaments the weeks before, you could get in without getting charged. The NCAA never caught on.

 

We have all of our writers on wireless internet cards so we always have it and there is no extra cost. On a side note, we buy unlimited minutes so they can use them for personal and we don't care.

 

You may need to be prepared to pay much, much more at a certain arena in NC that is hosting rounds 1 and 2.

Just had some issues last week while covering high school hoops regionals there. Fortunately, while covering a college women's tourney game at the same place, the league gave all members of the press an access code. And since I had that code, it worked wonders after one high school game that ended pretty close to deadline one night.

Otherwise, it was an $89 hookup fee

 

Well, is the NCAA allowed to shut down the free wireless of businesses in the area? If not, and you have enough time to do it, that's an idea. Obviously, that isn't happening if you have the last game of the day and have to get a paper out, but if the team you're covering has an early start, it would be feasible.

 

Papers used to spend a lot more on phones. And even had to pay for fax service.

 

If the NCAA pays for its setup and provides it, charging is fair.

If the facility routinely provides it free and the NCAA comes in and charges for it, it's horseshit.

 

Don't most conference tournaments set it up and provide it for free. I don't ever remember paying for it at any SEC tournaments and I didn't pay for it while covering the Southern Conference tournament this year, and I know that was set up special.

 

I know for a fact it is provided free of charge at the Alamodome in San Antonio, because I had free access while covering the Alamo Bowl this year.

 

It's free at the Pac-10 Tournament, and it's been free at every single arena/football stadium I've ever been to. This just seems downright ridiculous to me.