Instead, they will be standing outside, treating Utah's hottest political debate as a business opportunity.
Click on eBay and you will just make it in time to bid on a gaggle of tickets for the sold-out Moore event Oct. 20. But don't expect to pay double or even triple the $10 face value.
A pair of tickets near the stage in Utah Valley State College's 8,500-seat basketball arena are up to $75 - and rising.
Even Hannity, a regular at Provo's Freedom Festival who frequently broadcasts his conservative radio program at KSL in Salt Lake City, energized buyers.
Some students unloaded their free tickets for his equally sold-out Monday night speech for $40, while more seasoned scalpers got $150.
Meantime, UVSC has revealed travel costs for Hannity totaled just under $50,000 - roughly the same amount the college is paying Moore between a $40,000 speaking fee and $10,500 for his travel and security.
Hannity used the private Hawker jet service to get from the East Coast to Utah, then on to Arizona for Wednesday's presidential debate and back.
GOP gubernatorial candidate Jon Huntsman Jr. donated $10,000, and a Utah company kicked in $5,000.
But the majority of expenses for Hannity and Moore were covered through the sale of tickets - which garnered an estimated $35,000 for each speaker.
However, Danny Debeikes, one of the organizers of last week's tongue-and-cheek anti-Hannity protest, said he is bothered that Hannity's travel expenses eclipsed Moore's speaking fee - especially after the conservative speaker made frequent mention of waiving his $100,000 speaking fee to appear in Orem.
"If he is going to be hypocritical and make money, we thought we might as well make a profit," said Debeikes, who, along with a handful of students Monday, scalped Hannity tickets.
UVSC spokesman Derek Hall took the reports of scalpers - and Hannity's travel bill - in stride.
After all the controversy over spending $50,000 in student fees before November, he said recouping nearly $16,000 is a success.
"To have two speakers of national renown come for about $17,000 each this close to the election," he said, "is a real coup for the students."
djensen@sltrib.com
meddington@sltrib.com
