University Park, Pa. — When the Nittany Lion basketball team takes on Michigan at noon on "Super Bowl Sunday," the Nittany Nation will find additional personnel and points of sale to help speed student entry into the Bryce Jordan Center.
"The recent outpouring of student support for the Nittany Lion basketball team and the huge student walk-up of more than 2,600 for last Saturday’s victory over No. 15 Wisconsin has prompted us to reevaluate how we can move students into the BJC and their seats faster," Penn State Associate Athletic Director Greg Myford said. "We are aware that due to the large numbers of students coming to the gates so close to game time, that many experienced long waits to buy their ticket. We want to minimize those delays as part of making sure that our fans have the best experience possible – start to finish — when they come to support our team."
Penn State drew a season high crowd of 14,292, the largest in two years, to the Jordan Center for the Nittany Lions 56-52 upset of the Badgers, Penn State’s third-straight home victory over a ranked opponent. More than 4,000 of those in attendance purchased their tickets on game day at the arena making it difficult to process the number of requests in a timely manner. The vast majority of those requests were for $5 student tickets, as the Nittany Nation turned out in force to help push the Lions closer to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 10 years.
In an effort to streamline the purchase of student tickets and the entry of students into the arena, Penn State will add six additional points of sale outside of the Jordan Center gates and increase staffing of ushers swiping tickets at Jordan Center entry points. Two additional kiosks with a total of four ticket sellers will be stationed outside of Gate A, the main student entry point, and one additional kiosk with two ticket sellers will be added outside of Gate D near The Loop student bus drop off point. The kiosks will service cash only, $5 student ticket sales on the day of the game and will open one hour prior to tip off. Students must show a valid Penn State student ID at the point of purchase. The traditional ticket office locations at both gates will continue to be staffed and operate as usual.
"The Jordan Center, Athletics ticket office and our team all came together to try to provide the best experience possible and make it as easy as we can for our students to come and support the team," Myford said. "It’s a great problem to have, trying to figure out how to get a large number of fans through the door quickly. I think we’ve done that, and as long as the students show up in big numbers again, we’ll have the chance to prove it on Sunday.
Penn State will take on the Wolverines in a noon tip on Sunday, Feb. 6. It is one of four remaining home games for the Nittany Lions. Penn State will also face Northwestern (Sun., Feb. 13) and No. 18 Minnesota (Thurs., Feb. 17) before a live audience on ESPN before culminating the home slate with a huge match-up vs. current unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Ohio State on Tues., March 1. The Nittany Lions nearly upset the Buckeyes in Columbus earlier this year before falling by three points, 69-66.
Sunday’s game vs. Michigan will feature six Penn State football players signing autographs on the concourse prior to game time. Standouts Derek Moye, Mike Mauti, Nate Stupar, Devon Smith, Jack Crawford, and D’Anton Lynn will be in attendance. It is also Talor Battle Photoball day at the BJC with fans receiving the give-away at all gates while supplies last. Fan favorite Red Panda, a uni-cycle juggling act, will perform at halftime and it is a Subway Full Court Four Pack game.
Nittany Lion Basketball single-game tickets can be purchased by calling the ticket office at 814-865-5555, visiting GoPSUsports.com or through Ticketmaster. Single-game tickets are $18 for the lower bowl and $15 for upper level tickets for adults. Youth tickets (18 and under) are $7 for the lower bowl and $5 for upper level seating, while Penn State student tickets (University Park or branch campus) are $5 for each of the 19 home contests.