The Purdue men's basketball team has sold more than 9,000 season tickets for the '15-16 season, a figure AD Morgan Burke claims is a 15% "increase over last season and the highest number" since '12-13, according to Nathan Baird of the Lafayette JOURNAL & COURIER. The school said that 96% of men's basketball season-ticket holders "renewed prior to the July 19 deadline." Burke "expects to be close to a season sellout." Students "make up a significant portion of Purdue's attendance base." Burke said that the Paint Crew's base allotment of 2,800 "will sell out, and up to 2,000 more spots can go to students who accumulate enough points through attendance with their Boarding Pass." Purdue has "sold 7,000 of those all-sport students-only passes." Between June 4, when season tickets went on sale, and the end of July, Purdue "sold 700 new season ticket packages." But Burke said that "higher basketball can, at least moderately, affect the athletic department's bottom line." That is "especially true given the recent dip in football attendance." He said, "Every $1 in basketball is $3 (in football). But it helps. In a year where we’re struggling over there, if they can over-hit their budget a little bit, it makes a lot of sense" (Lafayette JOURNAL & COURIER, 10/21).
