ISU Men's Basketball Nets Second Straight Season Ticket Sales Record

Coach Fred Hoiberg and a competitive ISU Men's Cyclone Basketball team have brought record breaking season ticket sales for the second year in a row.

Last week, Cyclone fans had purchased nearly 11,000 season tickets, an all time record, said Mike Green, Iowa State University associate director of athletic communication.

That breaks the record set in the previous year of about 10,300 season tickets.

“Our team is getting better, which helps out a lot and obviously having Fred Hoiberg has helped out a lot too,” Green said.

The men's season officially opens Friday with a 7p.m.game against Southern and the best seats in the house are already sold out. Every seat in the lower level with the exception of student season tickets sold during holiday breaks are spoken for in the 14,300 seat Hilton Coliseum.

Regular ticket sales have been increasing the last couple years, Green said.

There's a lot of excitement building around this year's program. The Cyclones made it to its first NCAA tournament in seven years, last season. Many of last year's players, such as forward Melvin Ejim, a Big 12 pick who tried out for the Nigerian Olympic team, are returning and the Cyclones have picked up some new recruits such as Will Clyburn, Utah Utes leading scorer, and Korie Lucious, a guard of Michigan State.

Justin Thompson, director of ticket operations for ISU Athletics, expects a good crowd for the team's opener, though the official Big 12 season starts Jan. 9.

“Hoiberg and the excitement he has brought, and the team being very competitive --- that's what's drawing everybody in to basketball again,” Thompson said.