Morning Power Bar: Purdue Season Tickets Sell Out; Expansion Updates

This is a regular column for BTPowerhouse that will cover a variety of Big Ten topics that might not deserve a detailed breakdown, but deserve mention. It will be similar to a news roundup with more thoughts and analysis.

So, let’s jump into our Morning Power Bar.

1. Purdue sells out its season tickets.

Earlier this week, Purdue released a statement indicating they had sold out their allotment of season tickets. It’s an impressive achievement for the program, though it’s not too surprising given Purdue’s success on the court in recent years.

Here’s the full release:

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Tickets are in high demand for the 2023-24 Purdue men’s basketball season, as the department has announced that season tickets in Mackey Arena have sold out.

All 9,000 season tickets have been accounted for after a renewal rate that was upward of 99 percent. The only tickets remaining for any games during the 2023-24 season will be via single-game tickets and multi-game packages.

This marks the third straight year that the men’s basketball program has sold out its season ticket allotment.

The Big Ten Conference schedule dates are expected to be announced in the next couple of weeks and times and television assignments will follow.

A year ago, Purdue finished with a 29-6 overall record, winning both the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. The Boilermakers, led by 2023 National Player of the Year Zach Edey, return all five starters and are ranked in the top five of every “way-too-early” top-25 poll released.

We’ll see if Purdue can live up to its preseason billing.

2. ACC expansion issues remain ongoing.

By now, everyone is familiar with the Pac 12’s demise and the Big Ten’s involvement. And while that story is significant enough by itself, the consequences remain ongoing for the Pac 12’s leftovers.

As recently as Wednesday, CBS Sports was reporting the ACC was considering adding California, Stanford, and SMU to its coffers. The move would certainly be less significant than the additions of Oregon and Washington earlier this summer, but would still have some notable implications for college sports.

Perhaps the most relevant aspect for the Big Ten would be the invasion of California by ACC powers like Duke and North Carolina. It’s odd to refer to the Golden State as Big Ten country, but the additions of UCLA, Oregon, and USC certainly give the league a great claim to it. And potentially giving teams like Duke and North Carolina a base to recruit the state wouldn’t be encouraging for the league. We’ll have to see if the ACC ends up making the move.

3. Illinois and Kansas to face off for charity.

One of the quieter stories over the last few weeks has been Illinois’ announcement of an upcoming exhibition game against Kansas. Illinois will host the exhibition on October 29th and it will raise money for Maui wildfire relief. While it would be more fun to see it as a regular season game, it’s great to see two nationally relevant programs coming together for a great cause.

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