Penn opens with a pair of Top 10 teams

Their schedule features home games against nationally-ranked Kansas and Temple, their expectations are nothing short of huge and their chances of winning the Ivy League crown are the talk of the town. Welcome to the big time, folks. Welcome to Pennsylvania Quakers basketball. With a 60 percent increase in student season ticket sales and a pervasive sense around campus that the Red and Blue can dethrone Princeton and advance to the NCAA Tournament, the Palestra figures to be a charged arena this season. But for those fans who need a little extra incentive to travel out to the Palestra and cheer on the Quakers, Bill Richter, Penn's new coordinator of marketing and promotion, might have what you're looking for. Richter has plans to increase attendance at the Palestra and attract more student interest -- even before the season starts. Last Saturday, for example, students, faculty and staff were invited to the men's basketball practice from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. After the practice, fans were invited onto to the court to meet the players and coach Fran Dunphy. "It [was] a get-to-know-your-players kind of event," Richter said. Throughout the season, at each home game, students will be entertained by a halftime contest, sponsored by Susquehanna Investments. Three randomly chosen fans will shoot a three-point shot at halftime. If they make the shot, Richter said, they will receive a $100 gift certificate to Foot Locker. After the three-pointer, the lucky fans will fire from half-court. If one makes that shot, he or she will receive $10,000. "Somebody will hit that shot this year. I guarantee it," Richter said. In order to be eligible for the contest, students must bring their designated coupons to the games. Coupons for each home game will soon be distributed to every student living on campus. The coupons are, however, not substitutes for the actual tickets, which students can purchase at the Palestra the night of the game. As of the weekend, neither the Kansas game on November 17 or the Temple game on November 23 were sold out. For those two games -- the first of the season and arguably the Quakers' toughest -- the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News will hand out "fan packs" to every fan inside the Palestra. Inside the fan pack, for the Kansas game, will be a newspaper and a full-sized schedule poster, featuring action shots of the Quakers' basketball players. "Every game that [the fans] come to, there will be some type of promotional item," Richter said. Peter Bentivegna, Penn's coordinator of basketball operations, explained that "some [incentives] will help draw attendance and some will simply make the game more enjoyable for those in attendance." While it might seem like a foregone conclusion that opponents like Kansas and Temple would automatically bring fans out in herds, Richter doesn't want to take anything for granted. "You have to work just as hard to promote the big games as you do to promote the small games," Richter said. "People aren't thinking basketball yet," Richter added, explaining that promotions and incentives always draw more fans, regardless of the opponents. With the added incentive and the big-name opponents, Richter expects a "boisterous crowd to spur the Quakers onto victory." "It doesn't get much better than this," Richter said.