The Student Association Programming Board announced Friday that Lupe Fiasco is set to perform at Binghamton University on Oct. 12, marking the second straight year an innovative hip hop act has headlined BU’s first major show of the year.

Fiasco, who has risen to prominence since his 2006 debut album “Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor” with the help of fellow Chicago native Kanye West, is set to play in the West Gym at 8 p.m.

“We’re very excited,” Aaron Butler, SA vice president of programming, said. “He’s definitely going to bring something different to campus, and I believe he has a very large following, to the point where hopefully we’re able to sell a lot of tickets, get a lot of people to the event.”

Student tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday for $20 at the Student Association Box Office, located in the New University Union. Butler said general public sales dates and prices would be announced at a later date.

According to Butler, there will be 1,500 tickets available to students and 1,700 to the general public.

Fiasco released his second album, “The Cool,” in December. Its first single, “Superstar,” featuring Matthew Santos, reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Fiasco won a Grammy Award in 2008. He entered the mainstream with a guest appearance in “Touch the Sky,” off Kanye West’s second album, “Late Registration.”

According to Meghan Wdowski, the SAPB concerts chair, the public’s opinion and past experiences are considered when bidding for artists. Last year, Gym Class Heroes was a success at the West Gym, drawing 3,200 fans. The University’s previous major hip hop performer, Ludacris, wasn’t able to fill half of the 7,000-capacity Events Center in 2005.

But both Butler and Wdowski are confident that Fiasco has the same universal appeal Gym Class Heroes had, and that Ludacris lacked.

“I’d say he’s equivalent, if not more diverse, than Gym Class Heroes was,” Butler said. “He’s a different kind of hip hop than what Ludacris was. I think he really transcends race and gender, everything.”

Fiasco accepted a bid of about $45,000. Butler estimated an additional $20,000 in costs would be accrued in the production of the show. The SAPB has $174,000 to allot to its different committees this year. The Concerts Committee is slated to receive the most at $75,000.

The show’s opening performance has yet to be determined, but will likely be a complimentary hip hop act. Butler and Wdowski said they looked at several other performers, including John Mayer, Jon Stewart and OneRepublic, to headline the year’s first show before settling on Fiasco. Because it’s an election year, there were initial hopes for the show to have a political theme, but Stewart was too indecisive and the SAPB needed to confirm a show.

“We put the bid in [for Stewart] but he gave us the run-around for awhile,” Butler said. “He was taking too long to answer us and we had to look into other things.”

Lewis Black and Third Eye Blind, both of whom have made successful performances in the area in recent years, were also considered.

After past financial troubles, the SAPB was able to turn a profit in the 2007-08 year under second-year Vice President for Programming Sandi Dube, rolling over about $20,000. Butler said the SAPB is never looking to make a profit, merely break even.

“What the ticket prices do is they help us so that we don’t lose money and can bring a great band to Spring Fling, which is free,” Butler said.