Men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery will visit a pair of Iowa dorms in the next two weeks, starting with a trip to Hillcrest this evening.

McCaffery and members of this year’s Hawkeye team will be in the Hillcrest marketplace from 5:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. He’ll head across the river to Burge on the morning of Oct. 17 and again on Oct. 24.

The trip is an effort to build the team’s student support; McCaffery made a similar series of visits last year. Iowa sold 1,731 student season tickets last season — the highest number in eight years, according to a release.

The team has orders for 1,558 student season tickets at this point. Packages cost $90, and the Athletics Department will take ticket requests at McCaffery’s dorm stops.

"That’s the reason why we’ve asked Fran to join us on campus … to give the students a chance to visit with their head coach, his staff, and the Hawkeyes and to make it easy for the students to place their ticket order," Associate Athletics Director Rick Klatt said in the release.

The last time Iowa fans saw the team in Carver-Hawkeye Arena was the Hawkeyes’ 2-point upset of then-No. 6 Purdue on March 5. The student section rushed the court, and McCaffery said he enjoyed the enthusiasm.

"They [the fans] were great a year ago, and, like our team, we need them to be even better this year," the second-year coach said in a statement. "The student section in every arena in the country is the group of fans that provide the energy — the energy other fans feel and the energy the players feel. Our student section gave tremendous energy and enthusiasm a year ago, and we want to build on that."

McCaffery will hold an open practice on Saturday in Carver-Hawkeye, beginning at 1 p.m. Fans who show up at 12:30 can win season-ticket packages or a round of golf with an Iowa coach.

— by Seth Roberts