Temple Men’s Basketball currently has the fifth most wins of any basketball program in the country, ranking behind national powerhouses like Duke University, the University of Kentucky, the University of Kansas and the University of North Carolina. At all of these schools, students are not offered free student section tickets and are required to pay to enter basketball games.
While extremely high-demand causes other high profile basketball schools to charge students, Temple University’s home games are free. When students attend basketball games at Temple, they get the chance to watch a historic program play for no cost. This is a unique opportunity not available at any other colleges of Temple’s magnitude in the NCAA.
“For both men’s and women’s basketball, there’s a lot of buzz this season,” said Katie Colbridge Ganzelli, Temple’s marketing coordinator for on-campus initiatives. “Going to games is a bonding experience because you can meet people and create memories and once you graduate, you are going to remember those memories that you make forever.”
Students should take advantage of Temple’s free student section tickets for all home basketball games during the 2022-23 season. Not only will the team benefit from an energetic home crowd, but sitting in the student section gives students the opportunity to socialize with each other.
Temple also has planned promotions, giveaways and other student engagement activities during games throughout the season that will be announced in the coming weeks.
For each game, students can get their free first-come-first-serve tickets using their OwlCard at the student entrance of the Liacouras Center on 15th and Montgomery Streets.
Temple’s sports games are an experience that students, even non-basketball fans, will remember post-graduation. The student section offers a sense of community and even without understanding basketball, attending games can still be an opportunity to rally behind Temple and show school pride.
“Even though I’m not the biggest basketball fan, I can’t wait to be at the games and in a college sports environment,” said Carlos Adame Montelongo, a freshman undeclared major. “You see college games on TV all the time so I’m excited to experience it in person with my friends.”
After losing in the second round of the conference tournament last season, the Owls have added new players through the transfer portal and are returning key players from injury, like redshirt sophomore Khalif Battle, who led the conference in scoring last year before suffering a season-ending foot injury on Dec. 1, 2021.
Temple has a real opportunity to return to March Madness for the first time since 2019, and re-establishing a strong home-court advantage might be just what the team needs to help reach the tournament.
This year, the team is fielding their most competitive roster under four-year head coach Aaron McKie and more students should come out to support the team, said Robert McFarland, a senior finance major.
“It is something you should obviously take advantage of,” McFarland said. “You get to sit in the student section and can be courtside if you want to be and it’s so intimate because you get to be right next to the players.”
Temple Women’s Basketball will be moving their home games from McGonigle Hall to the bigger Liacouras Center this season, giving the team a larger venue that allows more people to come to games.
Last season, the women’s team finished fourth in the American Athletic Conference standings and received a first-round bye in the conference tournament. This year, under new head coach Diane Richardson and with seven new transfers, the Owls have a chance to be a top team in the AAC.
Having a strong home crowd can create a hostile environment for opposing teams to play in which gives Temple the upper hand in games at the Liacouras Center.
“I think we should draw a larger crowd, and I don’t know why we don’t,” said Alex Wadsworth, a senior business management major. “Especially being in Philadelphia where we supposedly have some of the best fans, it surprises me that we don’t get behind the basketball team as much and show out a little bit better.”
For freshmen who are not yet involved in campus life, going to games can be a good way to get to know other students and the community. At any college sporting event, you can start conversations with people sitting around you, allowing you to make new friends while enjoying the game.
The men’s team opens their season against Wagner College at the Liacouras Center tonight at 7 p.m.. The women’s team will face Georgetown University on Nov. 12 at 4 p.m. in their home opener. Students should attend Temple basketball games to get the most out of their college experience.
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