NCAA Tournament ‘Miscellaneous’ Orders: 19,500 Wings, Whiffle Ball Set, Ukulele

Imagine arriving in Indianapolis to prepare to play in the NCAA Tournament and realizing you forgot your … ukulele?

That’s just one of the many miscellaneous items the NCAA has delivered to student-athletes since teams have arrived in Indiana — 10 balloon bouquets, a whiffle ball set, and games like a kid-sized basketball goal are also on the list.

NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball Dan Gavitt provided numbers from Sunday through Wednesday on laundry, food delivery, and miscellaneous items ordered by athletes participating in the NCAA Tournament who are not able to leave to grab things themselves.

So far, the NCAA host program has fulfilled 174 requests for miscellaneous deliveries, including some things an average person forgets on a trip — socks, toiletries, chargers, and even dress pants.

Other requests include detergent, stamps, batteries, socks, HDMI cords, computer supplies, paper, groceries, an electric water kettle, checkers, dominoes, a soccer ball and a football.

Through the first four days, the NCAA reports that teams have combined to order 161 late-night meals, averaging 40 per night. The NCAA and its partners have provided 5,500 student-athlete meals so far. This includes more than:

• 1,500 burgers and chicken sandwiches from Wendy’s.
• 19,500 wings in one night from Buffalo Wild Wings.
• A Pizza Hut order including more than 650 pizzas,
  • 200 family pastas, and
  • 4,350 breadsticks.

“That’s a lot of food for hungry student-athletes,” Gavitt said.

In the first two days, more than 2,500 loads of laundry were washed in washers and dryers that Lowe’s provided for the Tournament.

In terms of COVID, the NCAA said as of Thursday morning, eight positive COVID-19 cases have been identified out of more than 9,100 tests so far — only one additional positive since testing numbers were shared Wednesday.

The NCAA said that is equal to a positivity rate of less than 0.1%, and includes positives tests for Tier 1, 2 and 3 individuals — players and travel teams, people courtside, and individuals in close proximity to those listed.