ISU students are getting revved up to travel to Arizona to see the Cyclones play in their first bowl game in 22 years.

The ISU football team will be taking on the Pittsburgh Panthers Dec. 28 at the Insight.com Bowl in Phoenix.

Whether they will be traveling by airplane, bus or automobile, students are anticipating the chance for a little fun and warmer temperatures.

“It’s going to be a blast,” said Brad Carlson, junior in mechanical engineering. “We’re going to party up until we get kicked out of the hotel.”

Carlson said he will be traveling in a friend’s full-size conversion van, but he doesn’t know where he and his friends will be resting their heads at night.

“We haven’t made any reservations at any hotels yet,” he said.

Other students already have thought ahead.

“I think we’re going to stay at the Embassy Suites,” said Mike McKeeman, senior in management. “One of my roommate’s friend’s dad has already gotten four or five suites, so we might get one from him. Otherwise we’ll stay at a Super 8.”

Partying will be a major aspect of the bowl game, McKeeman said, especially since students will be away from Ames.

“We’re going tailgating for sure,” he said, “and then we’ll go out on the town.”

Students interested in making the trip will be able to purchase the $48 tickets this Friday, Athletic Ticket Manager David Crum said. He said students shouldn’t be discouraged by the long lines.

“If a student shows up and there’s a long line, they can always come back and get a comparable spot,” he said.

Crum said about 1,500 tickets will be available for student seating at the Arizona stadium, but it is hard to say whether any more will be available when it’s sold out.

“It’s really tough at this point because it’s been 22 years. Everything is so new,” Crum said. “We decided on 1,500 because it’s the percentage of tickets that the students bought this year.”

Local stores also are getting caught up in the bowl fever, stocking their shelves with promotional merchandise one day after the university announced the bowl destination.

“We have had a lot of people come in wanting T-shirts,” said Megan Finch, store manager at T-Galaxy Retail, 206 Welch Ave. “We had the design ready, and we plugged in the bowl logo on Sunday night.”

Finch, junior in communication studies, said T-Galaxy had more than 50 people come in for first-day sales and expects the number to rise.

“We’ve had numerous phone calls so far,” she said. “We have one design that’s arranged, ranging from $16 to $20.”

If students are looking for more than just a T-shirt, the University Book Store also is offering crewneck sweatshirts, embroidered denim shirts and hats that feature several bowl designs, said Mike Shupp, general merchandise manager.

“People like the graphics and our selection,” he said. “Students might have been surprised that we have products like we do because most of everything was here when we opened up.”

Tickets to the game will be sold starting at 8 a.m. Friday at the box office on the lower south side of Hilton Coliseum, Crum said. Students need to have their ISUCard and fee card with them and will be able to purchase more than one ticket if needed, he said.

“If you want to come and buy four tickets with one fee card and ISUCard, that’s OK,” he said. “We’re not setting our ticket limit — we’ll just hope and trust that students will use their best judgment.”

Don’t forget to check www.iowastatedaily.com for Insight.com Bowl updates through the week and after the game.