Basketball fans have a new way to join in the "March Madness."

The Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills is raffling a package trip to the 2009 NCAA men's basketball championship.

The winner will receive four tickets to the final game at Ford Field Stadium in Detroit and hotel accommodations for four. A private plane will take the winner and his or her guests to Detroit on Monday, April 6, and they will stay the night before flying back the next day.

Local businesses are selling raffle tickets for $100 each through next Tuesday night. The winning ticket will be drawn live on the air at Star 102.5 at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 1.

Only about 50 tickets remain of the 300 that were printed, according to Ralph Ronalter, chairman of the Resource Development Committee of the Boys and Girls Club that organized the fundraiser.

Raffle tickets are available at the Darling Pub and Restaurant and the Magnolia Inn in Pinehurst, The Pilot, The Country Bookshop, The Bell Tree and Ashten's in downtown Southern Pines, or by calling the Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills at 692-0777.

"We'd like this to become an annual thing and a larger community event over time," Ronalter said.

Proceeds from the fundraiser go to the Boys and Girls Club of the Sandhills, which serves more than 300 children daily at the Southern Pines and Aberdeen sites. Local contributions and special fund-raising provide 75 percent of the funding for the Boys and Girls Club.

The Pilot will be sending a staff member to cover the championship game as well. The newsroom is holding a contest to determine who the lucky one will be. Staffers are submitting a short essay arguing why they should be the one to cover the championship game.

Publisher David Woronoff will be judging the submissions, and The Pilot will announce the winner in Sunday's sports section. Woronoff said, "I'm looking for creativity, passion and enthusiasm in the winning entry."