UMass Student Basketball Writers Trying To Raise Money For Possible NCAA Tourney Trips

BOSTON (CBS) – The University of Massachusetts has a great shot of getting invited to the NCAA men's basketball tournament later this month, but the campus paper might not be able to send its' staff to cover it.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mary Blake reports

If UMass gets its first tourney bid in 15 years, The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, the independently funded student-operated newspaper, wants to send two beat reporters and a photographer to the team's games.

But that would get expensive.

Sites for first round games are as far away as Spokane, Washington and San Diego. Closer trips could be to Buffalo or Orlando.

Either way, it will cost money, money the newspaper staff says it doesn't have, after independently funding travel to Washington, Philadelphia, and New York for regular season games and the Atlantic 10 Tournament.

"We've been able to get to some of the road games by getting rides from another writer, but flying all the way out west would financially be the worst possible outcome, so we had to plan for that," assistant sports editor Mark Chiarelli told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Tuesday.

So they've set up a Go Fund Me page looking to raise $5,000.

"The money raised would go right to plane tickets, hotel, maybe rental cars," Chiarelli said.

"We actually saw last year, LaSalle's student newspaper in Philadelphia, they did the same kind of thing to get funding to go to the Sweet 16."

If you'd like to donate, click here.

The student radio station at UMass-Amherst, WMUA, is also raising funds for an NCAA Tournament trip. To donate to WMAU, click here.

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