Penn State men’s and women’s basketball will be back at Rec Hall, the University announced at Saturday’s Homecoming football game against UMass.
The men’s team will host Illinois Wednesday, Feb. 21, and the women’s team will take on Ohio State the next night.
The men are scheduled to play at 6:30, the women at 6.
This will be the frist time the men have played in Rec Hall since December 2015, which was a 54-50 win over Louisiana Monroe. The team beat Canisius 81-67 two days prior. Before that, it took on Princeton in Dec. 2013, losing in overtime.
That Princeton game was the first time Penn State played in Rec Hall since 1996. Before moving into the Bryce Jordan Center— its current home– Penn State’s men’s team played in Rec Hall from 1929-1996. The women’s team played there from 1977-95. This will be the first Big Ten game the men have played in that building in more than a quarter century.
Unlike the men, the women haven’t returned to Rec Hall since moving to the Jordan Center.
Both teams had great records at Rec Hall when it was their home.
The men’s team went 514-183, good for a .737 winning percentage. The women’s team won almost 86% of its games, going 203-34. Arguably the most notable women’s game played in Rec Hall took place Feb. 6, 1994. In a “pack the track” game, Penn State beat No. 8 Iowa, 63-61, before a sellout crowd of 7,264. It was also the first nationally televised women’s basketball game in Rec Hall, being broadcast on ESPN2.
Due to space, the men’s games tickets will be exclusive to season ticket holders, both general and in the student section. Single-game tickets will be avaliable for the women’s game.
