I think I won there too ... although the flight isn't "cheap" ... I get there and leave at great times of the day, on direct flights ... and seems to be the best option for that from PDX ... no other destination would have been better for me using Alaska miles/credits.

I see the flights I purchased yesterday are $33 more today (the hotel went up by about $11/day total as well!)... and the same flights with a Sunday return instead of Monday are $368 more than I paid for mine! If you didn't have a preference of airline, and were willing to take red-eyes or long layovers ... you might get a flight for around $500, maybe closer to $400?!

FYI, I'm staying at the Hilton Garden Inn next to the Champaign campus, 0.75 miles from the venue and the hotel where the team will be staying.

http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/illinois/hilton-garden-inn-champaign-urbana-CMICHGI/index.html