University of Dayton officials have been trying to generate interest in the NCAA tournament First Four games, but they didn’t have to do any persuading to get the world’s most famous hoops fan on board.

President Obama will be attending the games Tuesday along with David Cameron, prime minister of the United Kingdom.

Ticket purchases have been stagnant for about three weeks with roughly 3,000 more to sell to reach capacity. UD has expected a spike in sales once the participating teams are revealed Sunday evening, but some fans may miss out if they wait.

“We do have tickets left, and I think if anyone is interested in still buying, I’d buy quick. ... We are confident we will sell out,” said Tim O’Connell, the UD Arena director.

“How many times can you go to a game and the president of the United States and the prime minister of the United Kingdom are sitting in the same arena? And our arena is so intimate you’re going to be able to see them. ... It could be a once-in-a-lifetime endeavor — not to mention we’re going to have great teams and great basketball for everybody. The excitement is going to be through the roof.”

Double-headers will be played each night with one game featuring two of the final at-large teams and another between two of the lowest-seeded teams. All-session passes cost $120 for the lower arena and $80 for the upper arena. They can be purchased online at DaytonFlyers.com.

UD has trumpeted the First Four games as one of the top events on the sports calendar, and a visit by the two leaders of the free world brings some validity to that.

“We’re beside ourselves. The NCAA is excited, too, because really it’s their event,” O’Connell said. “It’s going to be a lot of work for everybody, maybe a little inconvenience, but when it’s all said and done, it will be great for the community.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.