Last year, the first time that Penn fans could get a taste of their basketball teams was during " Midnight Madness," the first moment when teams can legally practice under NCAA rules.
That evening went along with the longstanding tradition of "The Line," when students get their men's basketball season tickets.
The tradition also entails students sleeping over in the Palestra and watching the team's first practice.
But this year, the plan will be slightly different, as the date of the nation-wide "Midnight Madness" -- the first day teams across the country can practice -- falls on Friday, Oct. 14, the first day of fall break.
Both the men's and women's basketball teams are still expected to begin practicing on Oct. 14, the first day that they can. However, those practices will not be open to the public.
Instead of working with a diminished student population, the Athletic Department has pushed back "The Line" until the weekend of Friday, Oct. 28.
Penn Athletics Director of Marketing Dan Flynn said that "The Line" was rescheduled on the first available weekend.
"We were pigeonholed because of fall break and Parents' Weekend the following week," Flynn said. "The weekend of the 28th was the first time we could do it, so we're doing it then."
Family Weekend 2005 will involve afternoon football and soccer games. But Flynn acknowledged that it would not be feasible to hold "The Line" on a weekend when parents would be visiting.
"We wanted to set aside a weekend when students could still spend the night experience at the Palestra and receive their tickets," Flynn said.
The students will be still be treated to an intrasquad scrimmage between the men's basketball team. But instead of holding it at midnight, Penn coach Fran Dunphy has agreed to hold it Saturday morning.
The women's basketball team is scheduled to be involved in the festivities as well, although head coach Pat Knapp has not yet stated whether his team will also hold a scrimmage.
Flynn said that this year's intrasquad scrimmage will be more intense and realistic since the team will have already been practicing before then.
"Typically, the midnight basketball scrimmage, the coaches just send all the players out for a few minutes," Flynn said. "Last year Pat Knapp hadn't even seen his own team play yet before he had to showcase it to the fans."
"This year, Dunphy has been gracious enough to hold a scrimmage the morning of the 29th."
The rest of "The Line" will proceed similar to past years. A secret location will be announced the week of Oct. 24, where Athletic Department officials will hand out bracelets to all students. Those who receive the bracelets first will have the first pick of student seats for the Quakers' 16 home games this season.
Students will then report to the Palestra Friday night and select their seats for the year. They will be dismissed from the Palestra Saturday afternoon after picking up their tickets.
While there will be no Penn soccer, volleyball or football games going on the weekend of "The Line," Flynn said that various other promotional events will be held to entertain students before the morning scrimmage.
Last year, Comcast SportsNet held several contests throughout the night, including one where students tried calling the play-by-play of a Penn basketball game.
"We will do a lot over the course of 24 hours," Flynn said. "It will definitely be a highlight for the students."
The line - Oct. 14: Men's and women's basketball teams allowed to practice for the first time - Week of Oct. 24: Location announced for 'The Line' - Oct. 28: 'The Line' takes place overnight
