Ellen DeGeneres Show hosts World Series tickets contest at BU’s Marsh Plaza

The Ellen DeGeneres Show came to Boston University’s Marsh Plaza on Tuesday to award audience members tickets to Wednesday’s World Series baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals, among other prizes.

More than 500 students came to Marsh Plaza to watch The Ellen DeGeneres Show stream live from her studio in Los Angeles to Marsh Plaza. DeGeneres challenged her followers to dress up like the Green Monster, the Red Sox mascot, and compete at Marsh Plaza to win tickets to Wednesday’s game at Fenway Park.

Nikki Lazos, a College of Communication senior, and Anna Buggy, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, were the winners of DeGeneres’ challenge.

“It was a dream come true — we both love Ellen and think she’s an incredible person with everything she does for all the various charities and for everyday people,” Lazos said. “It was so fun to be a part of that.”

Around 2 p.m. Tuesday, DeGeneres released a tweet to her followers saying she giving out World Series tickets at Marsh Plaza.

“Who’s ready to win some World Series tickets? I’m talking to you, Boston. Marsh Plaza at BU. 5 pm. Be there,” DeGeneres said in her tweet.

Producers from The Ellen DeGeneres Show chose 10 finalists from the crowd based on their “Green Monster” costumes — green clothing and accessories, along with red socks — and their dancing.

Over the live stream, DeGeneres said the winner of her challenge would get two tickets to the World Series game, $5,000, and a VIP package, which includes meeting former Red Sox players, and watching a Red Sox batting practice.

“Here’s what I want you to do everybody, so listen up,” DeGeneres said. “You’re dressed as the monsters, it’s Halloween coming up, so I want you to go and take the scariest photo that you can with a stranger. You’re going to go find a stranger and take a scary, scary photo. Be creative because you are going to get a wicked cool prize.”

Lazos said she and Buggy plan to split the $5,000 they won, as well as attend the game at Fenway Park on Wednesday together.

“I feel really awesome,” Lazos said. “As Kevin Garnett would say, ‘I’m on top of the world.’”

BU spokesman Colin Riley said the show’s officials contacted BU on Friday with a request to do a segment on Marsh Plaza if the Red Sox won the American League Championship Series.

“We found out [about the show wanting to come to BU] on Friday,” Riley said. “We had to keep it under wraps [until Tuesday]. That was probably the toughest part when we knew something cool like this was going on. Then, there were lots of logistics that we needed to set something like this up.”

Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore  said officials collaborated with the Boston Police Department, Marsh Plaza and BU Facilities  to hold the show on BU’s campus.

“I’ve got to give thanks to a lot of the people who make this happen,” Elmore said. “I think it [the show] has great energy, a great pick-me-up, and I am amazed at how much people get behind the Red Sox … Earlier today, we had cheerleaders out here, we had people playing music. It was incredibly festive.”

Aditya Rudra, a School of Management senior, said he and his team were finalists in DeGeneres’ challenge. He competed with his two friends Chase Kolozsi, an SMG senior, and Matt Goldberg, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, and won $1,000.

“We found out about this an hour before the show started, and I called up all the local costume stores and ran to Cambridge,” Rudra said. “… We put this together in seconds … We were motivated by a love of Boston, of Ellen, and of adventure.”

Kolozsi said while the fact that he won $1,000 is exciting, he is more excited that he got to be a part of Ellen’s show. Kolozsi said he, Rudra and Goldberg plan to split the money they won between the three of them.

“I am going to move to LA [Los Angeles] in January to continue my internship with Warner Brothers and, hopefully, the Ellen DeGeneres show,” Kolozsi said. “So, I am hoping to store that [money] and save up because … it is expensive to live in LA.”

Karen Contador, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, was the challenge’s runner-up. Contador also won $1,000 and was invited to fly out to LA on Wednesday to be on the show.

“I don’t know why they are flying me out, and they [the producers] just told me she [DeGeneres] wants me there, and I’m like yeah I’ll go — she’s my girl,” Contador said. “So, I am going to LA tomorrow morning… I take life as it comes, and I’m ready for it.”