Things To Know About NCAA Championship Air Travel
Short’s Travel Contact Information: Short’s Travel handles all NCAA championship travel. Their toll free championship number is 866-655-9215.
Short’s Championship Portal: All traveler rosters and flight preferences must be submitted through the portal at www.shortstravel.com/ncaachamps well in advance (1 month) of selection for NCAA play. Once selection has occurred, an institution will have 4 hours to update or change their flight preferences. After that, no changes can be made. However, the traveler roster can be edited until tickets have been issued.
A login and password are required to enter the championships portal. Sport administrators may contact Kristal Tinkham in the Athletics Business Office at 631-4843 for this information.
Drive/Fly: Participating institutions located within 300 miles (for Division I) of the competition site are required to travel via ground transportation rather than by air. However, the institution may choose to travel by air and be reimbursed by the NCAA for the cost of ground transportation. For individual championships, the institution will be reimbursed mileage at .43 per mile per traveler. The institution may utilize Short’s Travel for these flight arrangements and will be responsible for providing a form of payment to Short’s for these tickets.
Commercial Flights: Flight options are limited due to the quick turn around time of championship travel and the seasonality of NCAA championships. Institutions that fly should be prepared to have connecting flights, split their travel party and leave campus early in the morning.
Hub Rule: Institutions may be required to fly out of any airport that is within 120 miles of their campus (for Division I). They may also be required to fly into any airport that is within 120 miles of the competition site. For example, a team in a rural area serviced only by regional airports may be required to drive to a metropolitan area to fly from a major airport.
Reasonable Flight Options: Charter options will be pursued by Short’s only if reasonable commercial options are not available. Charter aircraft is extremely limited and travel times must be flexible. Because we are attempting to utilize the aircraft available in the most efficient way possible, institutions must be prepared to leave the site of competition immediately following its game or the following morning, even if it is not their preferred departure time. The NCAA national office travel staff is responsible for making the determination of what should be considered reasonable options for the official traveling party.
If it has been determined that there are reasonable commercial options available but the institution wishes to pursue a charter flight and pay the difference between the available commercial space and the charter, charter options will only be researched after all other teams with no commercial options have been accommodated. In this instance, teams should expect that flight options will take longer to confirm.
Communication of Options: Short’s will make every possible effort to communicate confirmed flight arrangements to the institution no later than 18 hours prior to departure. This will be dependent upon when an institution submitted their travel preferences and complete roster. Institutions that fail to meet the deadline to submit information will be moved to the bottom of the priority list. However, due to the limited availability of aircraft, there may be emergency situations in which the institution’s travel plans are not confirmed with the airline until shortly before departure. The institution’s travel coordinator must be prepared to contact the members of their travel party with travel details right up to the time of departure. Institutions should also realize that flight options are being arranged according to departure date. This means, in general, that teams leaving on Wednesday will receive their options before a team leaving on Friday.
Short’s travel portal will be utilized to communicate flight options and final arrangements to the teams. Travel coordinators should be sure to access the site regularly. Agents will still be available by phone to assist with a team’s needs.
Passengers Beyond the Official Traveling Party: If the institution exceeds the official travel party size on a charter flight, the NCAA will cover the cost of the official travel party and the empty seats on the plane. The institution will be billed by Short’s the prorated cost per seat for individuals on the flight over the official travel party.
Identification: Due to heightened airport security, government issued photo ID is required for check-in for all commercial and charter flights.
NCAA Travel Staff Contact Information: The phone number to the NCAA national office travel staff is 317-917-6757. Juanita Sheely, travel and insurance coordinator and Nikki Watson, travel analyst, are the primary NCAA contacts for all championship travel issues and can be reached at this number or by cell phone at 317-966-6516 and 317-966-6508, respectively.
This information is provided to assist institutions in making travel arrangements. The institutions are responsible for adhering to the official NCAA Travel Policies, accessible at http://www.ncaa.org/financial/travelforms.html#top.
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