Official: Fans won't be allowed at Purdue basketball games 'indefinitely'

Mackey Arena officially went quiet on Wednesday, as Purdue announced — to no one's surprise — that its games will be played "indefinitely" this season without general fans present, as COVID-19 numbers have spiked locally and all across the country.

Boilermaker A.D. Mike Bobinski released the following statement.

As tipoff approaches for the 2020-'21 basketball season, Purdue Athletics announces that games will be played indefinitely without fans in attendance. This decision is based on the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic in our community and reflects our ongoing commitment to help protect the health and safety of our students, coaches, staff and area residents. We will continue to work with campus, local and state health officials as the season progresses, and will provide updates regarding fan attendance as information becomes available.

While hope does exist that Purdue may be able to change later in the season to allow some fans through the doors, in the near term, the program loses one of its greatest advantages — its homecourt environment, and the Paint Crew student section. That much though, has been a given for some time.

Purdue has three non-conference home games on its schedule, vs. Oakland, Valparaiso and Indiana State, plus half of a 20-game Big Ten schedule that should be announced shortly.

Family members of players and staff will be allowed to attend, as is the case with football.