M. Hoops season ticket sales surpass 1,100 mark

On the heels of the Penn men's basketball team's nationally televised appearance against Kentucky on Wednesday night comes word that season ticket sales for Quakers basketball have reached an all-time high. According to the Athletic Department, as of yesterday more than 1,100 season tickets have been sold for the 1999-2000 season -- the highest total ever. "It is an all-time high and we're still selling them," Athletic Department Marketing Coordinator Bill Richter said. "In all categories -- season tickets for students, general public, individual game tickets -- we've never had sales as high as this. "It's something certainly that we're very proud of." The Palestra, the fifth-oldest basketball arena in Division I, has a capacity of 8,722. Last season, crowds hovered around 3,500 for most Ivy and Patriot league games, and the Palestra was sold out on three of Penn's 14 games in the arena -- against Temple, St. Joseph's and Princeton. A game with then-No. 8 Kansas on November 17 fell 900 tickets short of selling out. This year, however, having a host of empty seats in the Palestra does not appear to be a problem. In addition, single game tickets -- an alternative for fans seeking to buy tickets for only the marquee games on Penn's schedule instead of for the full home slate -- are also going faster than they have in years past. Tickets to Penn's showdown with Villanova on January 9 and the Quakers' regular-season finale against Princeton on March 7 are both nearly sold out. The overwhelming success of season-ticket sales, Richter said, is attributable to several factors both on and off the court. "What you've done is taken a strong team and thrown some marketing support behind it -- the ads in The [Philadelphia] Inquirer certainly helped us sell tickets and on-campus awareness is at an all-time high -- so the sales are a combination of a lot of factors," he explained. "We started a sponsorship campaign with The Inquirer beginning in September for promoting our football games and then they dovetailed into basketball, where we primarily promoted the season ticket package and pushed pretty heavily the two tickets for $170, which is a pretty good family value." The Quakers will open their home schedule for the '99-00 season with back-to-back games against Army on Friday, December 3, and Penn State on Saturday, December 4. All told, the Quakers have 13 home dates this winter: Army and Penn State in December; Villanova, Lafayette, Drexel and St. Joseph's in January; and seven Ivy League contests in February and early March. Excitement has reached an almost-feverish pitch on campus in anticipation of the start of the home season; much of it stems from Penn's success a year ago, when the team won the Ivy League title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Nearly 300 students -- a record number in itself -- camped out on the annual "Line" over the Halloween weekend for shots at the best season tickets as well as the ticket lottery for away games against La Salle, Temple and Princeton. And the Penn hoopsters take notice of this crowd support. "I heard more people [are in line] than last year, so I'm excited and I'm happy that people are actually excited about us," Quakers co-captain Michael Jordan said at an open practice session that coincided with the ticket line three weeks ago. "It makes me excited and it makes me want to come out and give that extra 10 percent when I already give 150 percent. "I'm happy that the campus is excited. Last year they were a little excited. My freshman year -- not really. My sophomore year -- not really. Last year we won, so now everybody is excited and they're going to come out. And when the fans are here, this place is rockin'. And it's hard to beat us when our fans are in the game." Jordan is certainly right on the last part; Penn is 21-4 at home over the past two seasons, with the four losses coming by a combined 14 points. Those who have yet to purchase tickets to Quakers basketball need not fear -- season tickets are still available, as are single game tickets to every home contest. They can be purchased by cash, check or credit card at the Penn Athletics Ticket Office, which is located in Weightman Hall near the entrance to Franklin Field on 33rd Street. "This is the highest number of season tickets sold in the history of Penn basketball, which is something we're certainly proud of," Richter said. "And it looks like the team is going to justify that type of support -- I think it's going to be exciting. I'm know I'm looking forward to it."

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