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Tickets are now available to the most unique college basketball setting in Philly, the DAC, home of @DrexelDragons Basketball #PacktheDAC 

Reserved courtside seats starting at $20!  You can't get closer to the court unless you walk on to the team like the great Bobby Jordan.

@Drexel_MBB games at the DAC include La Salle, St. Joes, and Southern Miss.

@DrexelDragonsWB home opponents include: St. Joes, Penn, and Cornell.

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Drexel Basketball Summer Update

The Drexel basketball season is just about three (!) months away, and there's a bunch of exciting Dragon news to report.

The renovations of the DAC are well underway.  The south and east bleachers have been completely removed in preparation for new chairbacks in the east/BnGC section and new modern bleachers in the south/new DAC Pack section.  La Salle and St. Joes come to the DAC this year, so you can watch your Dragons rock the Big 5 in extreme comfort.  Check out the update pictures below.

The south gym where the seats are being assembled.

The future new home of the BnGC with ample leg room, ample back support, and ample lack of opposing fans.  These seats will be reserved only.

Every 4 years, each college basketball team can take a preseason trip and get a jump start on practicing and playing against international competition.  The men's basketball team will soon be heading to China where Dragons are appreciated almost as much as at the DAC.

In other scheduling news, Drexel has landed some big out of conference games for this season.  In addition to the city rivalry games outlined earlier, Drexel will take on Penn State at the new arena in Allentown in December.  The team will travel to the Charleston Classic in November where they are matched up against the U of Miami Hurricanes in round 1. Poor Jim Larranaga just can't get away from losing to the blue and gold.

Southern Cal (USC) and Akron round out DU's side of the bracket.  Also in the tournament are Penn State, Charlotte, Cornell, and South Carolina.  Plenty of potential for BCS wins and all sorts of ESPN coverage. The game versus Miami will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

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Season Ticket Holder Social Event Recap

An official diagram of the proposed renovations.

On Thursday, May 15, the Drexel athletic department held a social event in the women's basketball suite for season ticket holders of the two basketball teams.  In addition to the season ticket holders, guests included Denise Dillon, Bruiser Flint, AD Eric Zillmer, members of the coaching staffs, and members of the athletic department.

The lead architect for the DAC renovations taking place this summer was in attendance and gave a presentation showing the planned expansion which is set to commence shortly and conclude prior to the start of the basketball season.  Here are some highlights from the presentation.

This summer's renovations will include converting the east bleachers of the DAC to chairbacks, including larger VIP chairbacks in the first row, to mirror the west side of the gym.

The south bleachers will be replaced with an approximately 1000 seat bleacher to hold the DAC Pack and pep band.  The section will be bleachers and reach about 28 rows in height.  

Unlike student seating at St. Joes and Villanova, every seat in the section will have unobstructed views of the entire court. No looking through trusses or under railings like the Big 5 does it.

The southwest corner of the DAC floor will convert to a new visiting locker room as well as having several bathrooms and a small meeting space.

The new visiting locker room was necessary logistically to avoid closing the general locker rooms during games and will also serve as extra incentive for teams to visit the DAC.

The southeast corner of the gym floor will be converted into basket storage (the existing wall mounted ones in the South Gym will be removed) as well as a much larger conference/reception area.

Adding floor 'pro style' baskets was investigated by the design team.  Doing so would push the proposed South Gym bleachers (and the rowdy students on them) back nearly ten feet from the baseline.  Floor baskets also greatly obstruct the view (anybody who has sat behind one at Penn or at the Coliseum can attest to this).

A few things related to schedules for the year.

The ladies will host Penn and Cornell, among several other home games.

The men will play host to St. Joes and La Salle.  They'll participate in the Charleston Classic with some big name programs as well.

The Phantoms (formerly of Philadelphia, currently located in New York) will be moving back to the area next year at a new arena in Allentown, PPL Arena.  Drexel will square off with Penn State as one of the first basketball games held at the facility.

This summer's renovations have mostly been paid for through donated funds.  That fact represents real progress as fellow fans and supporters of the basketball programs have stepped up to make this round of renovations to the DAC possible.  We look forward to seeing an influx of season ticket holders in the Blue and Gold Club section this season, enjoying the new chairbacks and helping us grow to new heights.

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Dragons and Dolphins - An Alum's Look Back, and Ahead

As the fate of our first round game became clear, I grabbed my children’s sticky, cotton-candy-coated hands and ascended for the exits. No better place to drown your sorrows than in the depths of a trip to the National Aquarium. The best shot at the same in Richmond was a trip to a good barbecue place. On our way out, we filed past an impressive volume of Drexel fans representing a huge spectrum in ages.  As I passed along our large supporter section, I was really struck by the cross section of fans that I saw.  In particular the young fans who seem to be a direct out-growth of the DAC Pack’s efforts to bolster Drexel basketball and Drexel Athletics in recent years. If the 1990's were defined as the Malik Rose era at Drexel, you could argue that the 2000's have been about the DAC Pack. Many of you reading this know the story line.  In 2000, about ten students who regularly assembled to watch games decided to organize and founded the DAC Pack.  What's impressive is that (true to their Drexel education) they organized the group starting with a business plan. They viewed the students as "customers" and set out to engage and support their customer base.  When the DAC Pack leaders met with the administration, each request for funding was backed up by good data and results.  The funding and the fans followed.

Armed with a solid business plan, vision, and institutional support, the DAC Pack rose from its humble beginnings to a membership that has vaulted to over 2,000.  The organization has been recognized as the No. 1 student section in Philadelphia and one of the top 10 in the NATION. You read that right, a Drexel Basketball affiliate, mentioned among the NATION’S best!

What's more notable is they have maintained all this in support of some very successful teams, but with only a single women’s and no men’s appearances in the NCAA tournament.  The NCAA tournament is the holy grail of college basketball.  For many programs trying to increase fan and donor participation, a tournament appearance is a prerequisite. The DAC Pack has built on Drexel’s supportive culture to champion teams regardless of clout.  The group’s rise was also a reflection of the Drexel Athletic Department’s growth as a professional, well organized, modern athletic department.

As the group expanded, not only did it provide a sense of community and pride for the Drexel student body supporting basketball, it was a vehicle to promote the University. In so many universities, the connection of alumni back to the school is through their continued support of athletics. With both the CAA conference tournaments closer to Philadelphia the timing is right to engage these groups in new ways.

The ongoing work to set out a future plan for the DAC puts Drexel Basketball at a critical point, as no major investment has been made in the building for a very long time.

Our little arena could benefit from some big ideas. And we should be thinking about things that go far afield from the typical sports venue. DAC Pack'ers and young alums could add a lot to the conversation. Some of the most well known sports venues took their quirky features and amplified them to make them image defining. We should be thinking about all the cool features of all the places we gather besides sports arenas- memorable public spaces, trendy restaurants, playgrounds, night clubs, music halls and beer gardens.  The future of live sporting events will probably be more about entertainment than sport.  

So as this last most recent decade of graduates moves into the world, it's really important to the future of Drexel Basketball that the DAC Packers and Blue and Gold Club members participate as “customers” and as investors.  The ideas and support of these people form the true base of the programs.

In the coming years in Baltimore, I hope we'll have a chance to do this and to all be watching more Dragons and less Dolphins.

 ______

Tony Bracali is an alumni, President of Friday Architects, Advisor to the Blue and Gold Club and serves on the Athletic Director’s Leadership Council.

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Catching Up With Former Dragons: Hollie Mershon

Image courtesy of http://www.bckibirkstis.lt

I have officially been in Lithuania for four months.  My experience thus far has been positive. My first month here was quite the adjustment though as far as catching up on sleep, and learning the style of European basketball. I love my team. The girls are amazing and super friendly. They have been very helpful with my transition. We currently play in two leagues: the Lithuanian League and Euro-League.

The Euro-League is the top league in Europe and is very competitive. We won our first two games in that league which was huge because we were the underdogs considering it is our first year in the Euro-League. I am playing point guard and shooting guard, wherever they need me really. So far I am enjoying myself and the season wraps up in April.

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The Second Annual See If You Still Fit into Your DAC Pack Shirt Party!

It's that time of year again! Dust off your old DAC Pack shirt and stroll into the DAC like a boss.

This year for Homecoming, we're throwing a pregame party in our brand new Blue and Gold Club suite at the DAC, catered by Landmark. The details:

This Saturday 1/25, 3pm - 4pm (Tipoff is at 4pm)

$10 for unlimited beer, wine, soda, and wraps/snacks

Our goal is to have 100 of you old heads back to campus, and we've already got about 50 signed up.  

Please take a moment and drop your info below so we make sure we have plenty of food and drink.

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The entrance to our suite in the DAC!

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Historic Night For Women's Basketball

The surging Dragons improved to 2-0 in CAA play this evening with a blowout win, 89-49, on the road at William & Mary.  Drexel led by just three at the half, 35-32, before the game was quickly tied on a three pointer by the Tribe early in the second half. From there, the Dragons couldn't be stopped.  They outscored their opponent 54-17 in the second half, shooting 68% while holding the Tribe to just 11%.

Freshman Sarah Curran was unstoppable inside, pouring in a career high 22 points on 11-14 shooting in just 21 minutes of play.  Senior Tory Thierolf posted a few career highs, in points with 12 and in rebounds with 6.  Sophomore Meghan Creighton took just two shots, but distributed a career high 8 assists and had no turnovers from the point guard position.

The team's lone walk-on, Ashida Cooper, quickly got to the line after entering the game late in the second half.  She sank both free throws for her first collegiate points.  The Dragons were without the services of freshman standout Alexis Smith who is expected to return to action on Sunday against Delaware.

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Catching Up With Former Dragons: Ken Tribbett

Image courtesy of http://www.cdestela.com

Well Kenny T here, class of 2010. I definitely miss those old Drexel days in the smoldering Dragons den. I'm currently playing in Muscat, the Capitol City of a beautiful country called Oman. It is located in the Middle East, just a 4 hour drive from Dubai. The name of my team is Ah Ahli Sidab. We are 7-3 for the season. We are currently playing in a tournament called "The Golden Triangle" which features the top 3 teams in our league as well as the national team of Oman. This is a liberal place but definitely one of the most friendly cultures I've ever encountered on and off the court.

There are so many crazy moments (from my time at Drexel) but one of my favorite DAC Pack memories was when Marshall first dressed up in the full nylon full body suit. That's when I knew we had most unique outgoing student section in the city.

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Catching Up With Former Dragons: Samme Givens

The third post in an ongoing series leading up to Homecoming 2014.  This is an update from former Dragon forward Samme Givens.

Image courtesy of http://www.paris-normandie.fr/.

This year i am playing in France, in the city of Evreux which is in the northern part of France about a hour away from Paris. Currently I am in the tops of scoring and rebounding for my team and our record is 13-7 and we are currently in 2nd place trying to make the push for 1st place. So far it's going well and I'm just enjoying the culture and all of the wonderful spectacles they have to offer out here!

Editor's note: Samme averaged 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game through 21 games this season.

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Catching Up With Former Dragons: Jennifer Stjarnstrom

This is the second entry in an ongoing series leading up to Homecoming 2014.  Jennifer, a native of Sweden, played forward for the Dragons between 2006-07 and 2008-09, including on the CAA Championship team.

Since the 2012-13 season I've been playing for a team in Sweden called Telge Basket. Right now we're in 5th place in the league and we're about halfway through the season. I'm averaging 30 minutes per game, 9.7 points, 7.3 reboundss, 2.7 steals, 1.7 blocks, and 1.7 steals as of now.  

Last season my team won the regular season with only two losses but ended up losing in the quarterfinals due to too many injuries.

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Catching Up With Former Dragons: Dominick Mejia

Leading up to Homecoming 2014, we'll be spotlighting a bunch of former Dragons who have continued their basketball careers by playing overseas or coaching stateside.  The first post in this series goes to sharpshooter Dominick Mejia.

The following is an update provided by Dom:

I am playing for a team called San Carlos in the capital of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. This season was an up and down ride. We made it to the last round of the semi finals only one victory away from playing for the championship.

Currently in the off season I train and maintain a healthy diet preparing for next season. Throughout my previous six years as a professional basketball player I have experienced many adventures traveling to countries such as Turkey, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, among others.

Living in the United States, I have never had the privilege and opportunity to explore my native country of the Dominican. It has been a great experience performing against the many amazing talented players across these waters. I really appreciate the love and hate relationship of the fans; they make the games almost as loud as the DAC Pack haha.

I am currently working as an English teacher and call center supervisor here in the capital. I am turning 31 this coming March so I like to work aside from basketball to keep myself busy. I had so many captivating moments as a Dragon but to simplify it all, my best moment I like to recall as a Drexel Dragon, would be the Duke vs. Drexel.  That was an epic moment for the our university sports program and CAA conference. I must say it was the game of my life a thrill that every player yearns to feel.

For the Dragons staff, and entire program, it was a highly magical time doing the pre-season thanksgiving tournament (PNIT), where we beat Sam Houston and Princeton. Our team won the right to take the stage of Madison Square Garden on national television on ESPN featuring the best commentator of NCAA basketball, Dick Vitale. He had many special things to saying about the passion and fight he witnessed in our Drexel program that night. He commented saying Bashir Mason and Dominick Mejia are the best two punch tandem guards he had seen in a long time. I felt the growth of maturity taking place as our team united in an epic battle.

I will and can not ever forget the many moments as a Dragon they will be here forever. 

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Here We Go Again....

Your 7-2 Dragons, getting Joey Brackets all excitable, which in turn gets us all excitable...

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Drexel raises eyebrows in NYC

When mid-major college teams crash the party in early-season basketball tournaments alongside schools from the Pac-12, ACC and SEC, they're supposed to just be happy to be there. But a funny things happened over the long Thanksgiving weekend when our Drexel Dragons played in NYC; as Chris Fouch said "They must have come in thinking we weren't that good but we punched them right in the face."

Despite being down a starter (Kaz was recovering from a concussion) and losing another during the game (Damion with a knee injury) Drexel built a 19-point lead against the #4 team in the nation and had them on the ropes into the second half. Ultimately Arizona's power won by the narrowest of margins, beating our guys 66-62. (A closer margin than that by which Arizona later beat Duke)

Two days later, after everybody enjoyed extra helpings of Thanksgiving leftovers, Drexel fans enjoyed extra helpings of hoops as the game against Alabama went into triple overtime. Clutch rebounding and free throws from Kaz, after returning from his concussion, carried the guys to victory.

That concluded a six-game roadtrip that saw Drexel go 4-2 with the only losses coming to two of the best teams in the nation, by a total of nine points. We cannot overstate this... our guys can flat out ball.

With the home opener at the DAC this Wednesday at 7pm, these guys deserve all the fan support we can give them. They'll be taking on a tough Cleveland State team that nearly knocked off #3 Kentucky. Let's erase the demons of last season's home record and bring the DAC back to the amazing home court advantage we all know it is.

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Drexel Hoops at the Garden!

Thanks to a career-best 21 points from Tavon Allen against Rutgers, the guys won their way into the semi-finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament at Madison Square Garden in NYC! They'll have their hands full as they face off against Arizona (#5 in the nation) at 7pm on Wednesday 11/27, so let's give them all the support we can! No matter the outcome on Wednesday, they'll play a second game against either Duke or Alabama on Friday 11/29.

There are several different ticket options for the games. If you're a season ticket holder, give the ticket office a call (1-866-4DREXEL) and you can purchase tickets for $45 each from the block near the Drexel bench. You can buy up to four tickets for each day, so grab three of your friends or bring your family up for some pre-feast hoops!

The other ticket option for all alums/DU fans is to use this link and follow the prompts to use to promo code "Drexel" and continue your purchase through Ticketmaster. Tickets range from $25-$45 but are further away from the court in the corner of the arena.

However you prefer to travel (trains drop in Penn Station just below MSG and Megabus and Bolt Bus drop off within walking distance), just get your butts up to New York and kick off Thanksgiving with some deep-fried Wildcat!

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Another gem courtesy of DU alum DrexelJay. 

Need graphic design work? Patronize his biz: http://www.redfoxgraphics.com/

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DUKE. ARIZONA. ALABAMA....DREXEL.

At Madison Square Garden next week.

This guy's not scared.

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PNIT Sleeper = Dragons

While Rutgers star Kadeem Mack is in the midst of a breakout season to lead the Scarlet Knights, they cannot look ahead in the regional round. Otherwise, it will beDrexel making the trip to New York City instead.

If Bleacher Report has the authority to make such claims. Article here.

If the Dragons beat Elon and Rutgers beats Canisius tonight, tomorrow's game will be streamed on ESPN3.