Both Mike and John are correct in stating universities have rigorous guidelines of what can be solicited and who can approve it. However --- Going to hockey game these days is like passing a gaunlet of people who have your wallet planned for better things than you do. There are 50-50 raffles, jersey raffles, button sales, programs (game and other), candy sales, bake sales ... you name it.This has gotten to be too much. While most of these have been approved by the powers that be, I can not help but believe that some are not. Because of the number of solicitations made, I don't think anyone knows what is legit and not legit. I also do not believe that the university officials are aggressive in checking credentials. None of the solicitors have an official mark or license of the university visible. Some of the solicitations begin days before the NCAA event itself. Because of these problems it is very difficult for anyone including a school official, let alone anyone else, to determine what is or is not approved. I would highly recommend that giver use some common sense. If you do not know it is legit, don't give. If you wish to give to what seems like a worthy cause, but do not know if the soliciation is legit, check on it at the Sports Director`s or Building Manager's Office BEFORE giving. The potential for abuses are great and I am equally certain that it has been abused.Having participated in several solications, I can tell you that the money transferred is great enough to cause dishonesty. On a dollar raffle, it not unusual to collect a dollar from about 20% of population attending the event. A good aggressive solicitor can do much, much, better. Should the cause have public appeal, such as in the Travis Roy case, it is very easy to capitalize on public sympathy to collect moneys. It is an area in which the NCAA should investigate and determine some guidelines. As a minimum, each solicitor should display some form of approval by the university for the purposes of the solicitation. I would also suggest some form of accounting for the funds backed by a receipt system. Walt Olson MTU Usual disclaimers: These views are mine alone and do not represent nor are necessarily supported by my university. Others may share my views at their own risk. HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.