Ball State University didn't roll out the red carpet at Worthen Arena for the Purdue University men's basketball team; it just rolled up the banners in the bleachers.
To accommodate a crowd of 8,381 fans, the 21st largest in school history, the four banners that cover usually empty seats in the bleachers were removed before the Cardinals' 68-39 loss Tuesday. Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Tom Collins said the banners were removed because tickets had been sold for those seats.
The crowd was Ball State's largest since 11,500 packed in to watch Indiana University defeat the Cardinals in 2005. Many were drawn to Tuesday's game to see No. 14 Purdue make its first trip to Muncie since 1988.
"I was half and half," sophomore Nick Girod said. "I wanted to see Purdue, but you have to support your school."
In addition to a full Nest, many Boilermaker fans made the two-hour drive from West Lafayette. Purdue junior Claire Harris said she came because it was so close.
"It's definitely good to see everyone supportive even after the hard game against Duke," Harris said.
The two student sections were kept on opposite ends of the arena, but that didn't stop some back and forth cheering in the second half. As the Boilermakers were pulling away, they began chants of "Ball State High School" and "Buffalo." Cardinal fans returned with "Where's your bowl game?" and "4-9," references to Purdue's football season.
Boilermaker guard Chris Kramer said the crowd helped pump him up.
"The crowd really sparked us," Kramer said. "As soon as we were coming in, an hour left before game time, some guys were running their mouth at us. It even got our guys more prepared and focused on the game."
Collins said he hoped to see more crowds like Tuesday's in the future. He said playing teams like Purdue helps the attendance, but a winning team is the best way to draw large crowds.
"Coach [Billy] Taylor has to keep working hard to get a good product on the floor," Collins said. "When a team wins, the students get behind it like we saw with football this year."
For the fans sitting high in the bleachers, the quality of the play on the floor was enough to keep them happy.
"It's not a bad seat compared to other places I've been," Purdue senior David Haynes said. "It's a good thing [they uncovered the seats] because they're making more money."
While the game didn't give Ball State fans the result they hoped for, members of the Nest were still on their feet as the clock ran out on the loss.
"We were doing an awesome job in the first half," junior Lauren Johnson said. "We're not right now, but we still have high morale."
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