The Big Ten conference is expected to announce that Penn State’s men’s hockey and basketball teams will take part in a doubleheader against Michigan at Madison Square Garden in 2016.
That announcement comes in addition to the news that the Big Ten basketball tournament will move to New York City starting in 2018. A news conference is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
For Penn State and Michigan, the dual sports day at one of the world’s most famous venues is the first in what the conference is planning on a yearly “Big Ten Day” at MSG. The 2017 participants have yet to be announced.
Specifically, the doubleheader event will happen on Jan. 30, 2016 in what ought to be a memorable day for Penn State fans living in the New York region.
Penn State hockey recently played in Madison Square Garden in a 3-1 setback but the Nittany Lions are 9-4-2 on the year and in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten.
According to Penn State men’s basketball coach Patrick Chambers, there is nothing negative about the arrangement.
“When it was brought to me a few months ago,” Chambers said. “I did it when I was at Boston U, I took a game from our home arena and played Albany after a Saint John’s game. I think the experience for our team is number one, I think number two, the northeast corridor where we’re recruiting and we have a lot of kids from the east. And who doesn’t want to play in the most historical arena in the world? So I think you see all of those things there are nothing but positives. Win or lose there are nothing but positives that can come out of that game.”
“And you’ve got a great alumni base in that area. If I recall when Ed DeChellis took his team to the NIT in 2009 there were buses upon buses that went out MSG. So I think a lot of good can come out of this game in a couple years.”
This isn’t the first time Chambers has taken the unorthodox road for the program, Penn State is scheduled to play a two game series against Drexel with both games on the road. The game allows Penn State to play two games within an hour’s drive from the recruiting hotbed of Philadelphia and avoids the otherwise uneventful late December crowds at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Overall the move installs some Big Ten presence in the northeast market. With the Big Ten’s television deal set to be renewed the New York and surrounding markets open the door for big money for a conference that’s already a big money-maker.
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