Comedian Carlos Mencia is bringing his brand of comedy to the Schottenstein Center Saturday.

The event, an Ohio Union Activities Board and Coca-Cola production, is free to Ohio State students.

Mencia is one of the top touring comedians in the country, so the Schottenstein Center is likely to be in hysterics during Saturday’s event.

“Our goal is always to bring capacity crowds to all of our shows,” said Mike Jurek, OUAB comedy chair.

Finding a big name comedian for the right price can sometimes be tough for the OUAB.

“Balancing budget, (the) venue, who’s touring, (and) who’s not touring can be difficult,” Jurek said.

Widely known for his Comedy Central program “Mind of Mencia,” Mencia has been doing stand-up since the early 1990s. His act is centered around Mexican culture dabbling in race, class, religion and politics.

Mencia is extremely excited about this weekend.

“Why would I not want to come to Columbus?” Mencia said. “Everytime I got out people always tell me I have to come out to OSU.”

For the last two years, Mencia’s show has helped his popularity skyrocket. Since its beginning, the show has grown into one of the network’s benchmark programs.

“Mind of Mencia” features a mixture of Mencia’s stand-up and sketch comedy following the mold of his typical act.

This weekend Mencia promises an exciting show with a special guest and a question and answer session at the end.

“I kind of have a few things up my sleeve, but I am not allowed to talk about them,” Mencia said. “But my stand-up is utterly and completely raw. (Unlike the show) there are no filters, no go-betweens.”

Despite the accolades, the decision to bring Mencia to OSU has brought mixed feelings from the students.

Mark Montag, a freshman in psychology, is a fan of the comedian.

“(I) have liked (Mencia) for the past 2 years,” he said. “He is a comic that conforms to popular opinion, but not in the way that many would expect. This comic is one of the very few who isn’t afraid to speak his mind, without worrying about offending people.”

Brandon Mintern, a senior in computer science and engineering, feels differently. He recently created a Facebook group titled “I’m not happy to see my student activity fee supporting Carlos Mencia.” The group currently has 128 members.

“The idea started when I thought I would write to OUAB to express regret that a major event was scheduled for Mother’s Day weekend,” according to Mintern in an e-mail. “While writing the e-mail however, I realized that I wouldn’t really regret not getting to see Carlos Mencia. I always thought that it was a really crappy piece of programming … to see OUAB supporting him as well kind of bothered me.”

OUAB is in the position of trying to please as many students as possible, but there are bound to be some disappointed by the choices made.

“There’s a small list of comedians, not only widely known, but that have the ability to fill large venues and stay within (our) budget,” Jurek said. “Whenever you’re booking a show it’s always a complex formula; what you can afford and what you can’t. No matter what it is…there are always people who aren’t satisfied with the decision.”

Mencia’s first push toward success was his 2002 “Comedy Central Presents” special. The special airs again on Comedy Central frequently and was voted second place in the network’s “Stand-up Showdown” in 2006.

In the past OUAB has brought comedians such as Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle and most recently Stephen Lynch to campus.

Though the Schott is a big venue, Mencia is not intimidated by it.

“I have been doing this so long that nothing scares me anymore, except my mom. She can kick my ass,” Mencia said. “But at such a big venue, I have to bring my show up to a rock-show status.”

Those students who would like to attend can pick up tickets at Ohio Stadium between gates 22 and 24. Each student is allowed two tickets, the second can be used to admit a non-OSU student. In the event that tickets are still available, OUAB offices will be open on Saturday for those interested in attending.

Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show will begin at 8 p.m. Anyone interested in floor seats is encouraged to arrive early. Buck-ID’s must be presented at the door.

Zack Timmons can be reached at [email protected].