DURHAM, N.C. — Some lucky Duke and UNC Chapel Hill students are going to New Orleans this weekend to cheer for their teams in the Final Four.
What You Need To Know
The NCAA gave Duke and UNC Chapel Hill both 700 tickets to raffle off to their students earlier this week
Thousands lined up for their chance to see their teams compete in New Orleans
Duke senior Cameron Jarnot is going to Saturday's game and bringing the Duke baby with her
Cameron Jarnot is one of the 700 Duke students who will get to go to Saturday's game. Jarnot is part of the Cameron Crazies, Duke's wild and boisterous student section that holds 1,200 people at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
But she's not just known for being a Duke fan. She is the one responsible for bringing the Duke baby to games.
“It basically started with Dick Vitale," Jarnot said as she held the baby doll in her arms. "He (Vitale) always used to say, 'awesome baby.' So they got a baby (doll), and he would point to it and kind of play along with it. Now we have a baby, and she comes to all the games. She hangs out in K-ville with us, and she gets passed down every year so she stays in K-ville."
Jarnot's involvement in Duke basketball runs deeper than just bringing the baby to games. She's also a line monitor for Krzyzewskiville, also known as K-ville. It's where undergraduate students camp out for a chance to see certain Duke games.
"My mom went to Duke, she has three Final Fours while she was at Duke, so definitely a good time to be here," Jarnot said. "She always talked about Duke basketball being so fun, and the campus culture being awesome around it.”
Part of the motivation for Jarnot to pursue her undergraduate degree at Duke is because her mom is an alumna. And now her younger brother is attending this fall.
"I am really excited to use that as an excuse to come back and hopefully catch some games," she said.
For the Duke students who didn't get a ticket to go to the game in New Orleans, the university is having a watch party on Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The event is for active students with Duke IDs only. It will be closed to the public and to staff, except for those working in Cameron.