Students will receive free food, including chicken tenders, if they attend the Syracuse men’s basketball intrasquad scrimmage Friday night in the Carrier Dome, SU Athletics announced Wednesday.

The first 2,000 students to arrive will receive a free T-shirt, and students with a season pass elite will get wristbands and sit courtside. There will be contests during breaks of the scrimmage, which tips off at 7:30 p.m. There will be two, 30-minute running halves.

“Our hope is to get students to attend,” said Anthony Di Fino, SU’s associate athletics director for business development. “This event is for them. Their energy is going to drive that scrimmage.”

The SU women’s team will host its third annual Hoops-n-Scoops event Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Fans can watch a practice then eat free ice cream and meet the team at 1 p.m. SU Athletics asks fans who plan to attend the women’s event to email teamsu@syr.edu by Thursday. Admission and parking is free for both events.

The men finished 19-15 a year ago and advanced to the second round of the NIT, while the women advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight season, one of 15 programs in the country to accomplish the feat.

Last year, SU averaged 21,181 fans per game, second in the country to Kentucky. Syracuse has finished first in average home attendance 14 times in program history and has placed fourth or better each season since the Carrier Dome opened in 1980.

Last season, the Syracuse women’s team had the sixth-largest home attendance increase in college basketball. SU averaged 2,100 fans per game, double its average the year prior.

Earlier this month, Syracuse revamped its Orange Madness event, which featured musical performances, player contests including a slam-dunk contest and brief scrimmages.

The SU men’s team begins the 2017-18 season Nov. 10 against Cornell at 7 p.m. while the women open up the same day at 2 p.m. against Morgan State. Both games will be in the Carrier Dome.

Published on October 18, 2017 at 10:56 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21