- Purdue Schedule / Exhibition Tickets
- World University Games Home / Taipei Games Home / FISUTV YouTube / Team USA
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- With Purdue departing for the World University Games next weekend, preparations are nearly complete for the Boilermakers' trip to the Far East.
Team USA (made of entirely Purdue players) will host Team Canada in a pair of exhibition games next weekend to prepare for the World University Games. The two teams will battle at Carmel HS on Friday at 7 p.m. ET, then return to Lafayette Jefferson HS for a 4 p.m., tip Saturday.
Tickets are available for both games at the Mackey Arena ticket office, by calling 800.49SPORT, online at PurdueSports.com, or at the gate on game days.
We've compiled this handy factsheet to keep you updated on Purdue's travels and competitions to Taipei for the World University Games, also known as the University Olympic Games.
WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES FACT SHEET
- Competition Dates: Aug. 19 -- 30, 2017.
-- On Aug. 19, Taipei will roll out the red carpet for the Opening Ceremonies. Similar to the Olympics Opening Ceremonies, the event will feature nearly 10,000 athletes in the Parade of Nations as well as a lighting of the World University Games torch and cultural presentations. The event will be streamed online. The closing ceremonies will be held Aug. 30.
- Organizers: FISU (International University Sports Federation)
- Location: Taipei, Taiwan
-- Taiwan is an island located off the coast of China with 23.5 million residents. Taipei is the country's largest city with 2.705 million residents, exactly the same size as Chicago according to Google.com.
-- August is the hottest month of the year in Taiwan with average highs around 95 degrees and lows around 82 degrees. The humidity is also extremely high and there are frequent afternoon thunderstorms with an occasional typhoon. When compared to other Asian cities, Taipei has excellent air quality.
-- Tourism is big in Taipei as the city houses many museums, shopping districts, night markets and festivals. The dominating feature of Taipei is Taipei 101, a 101-story skyscraper that was the world's tallest building when it opened in 2004. It was the first skyscraper in the world to break the half-kilometer mark in height. Its design incorporates many engineering innovations while winning multiple international awards. Its shopping mall and indoor and outdoor observatories are regarded among the best in the world.
- Travel
-- Departure: Purdue will depart West Lafayette via bus to Chicago on Sunday, Aug. 13, and is scheduled for an early-morning, non-stop, 16-hour flight on Monday, Aug. 14, with arrival in Taipei scheduled for the morning hours of Tuesday, Aug. 15. From arrival, Team USA will clear customs, then proceed to the Athletes' Village for check-in, which in anticipated to last a couple of hours.
-- Returning: Team USA is scheduled to leave in the evening of Aug. 30, with arrival in Chicago just about an hour later on the clock, following a 14-hour flight. Try and wrap your head around that.
- Time Difference
-- Taipei is exactly 12 hours ahead of the Eastern time zone, since Taipei is on the other side of the International Date Line. For example, Team USA's first game against Argentina will be Aug. 20, at 5:30 p.m., in Taipei, but will be contested at 5:30 a.m. ET, back home.
- Accomodations
-- Every athlete in the World University Games will stay in the Athletes Village, which sits on a 20-acre lot and is composed of 34, 24-story buildings in two main areas. A total of 2,200 apartments are projected to accommodate more than 10,000 people.
-- The village will provide fitness centers, warm-up areas, play rooms and many other amenities.
-- Feeding 10,000 athletes can be quite a task, but the organizers are up for it. The buffet will be open 20 hours a day (5 a.m. to 1 a.m.) and is expected to serve 35,000+ meals per day during the peak of the Games. European/Mediterranean, Italian, Asian, halal, Taiwanese and other cuisines will be rotated throughout the games' duration.
- Basketball Facilities
-- Team USA will play the majority of its games in the state of the art Taipei Arena, a facility that holds upwards of 15,000 people. Designed in 2005 by Populous (the same architect firm that designed the Purdue Performance Complex), the arena has hosted NBA exhibition games as well as concerts to some of the world's biggest artists.
-- In addition, Team USA will play one pool-play contest in the Heping Elementary School, which recently constructed a 6,000-seat arena that was finished in Oct. 2016.
- Competitions
-- Team USA is scheduled to play eight games against international competition, beginning Aug. 20, vs. Argentina. The medal rounds begin Aug. 27, with the Gold Medal game taking place Aug. 29, at 8 a.m. ET. In addition to a possible scrimmage in Taipei before the Games start and the two exhibition games vs. Canada, Purdue players will earn 11 games of experience against high-quality opposition before the 2017-18 season even begins.
-- As of this release, there has been no television coverage announced, but we are hopeful some of the games will be picked up. We also believe that events will be streamed on FISU's YouTube page. At the games two years ago, television coverage for men's basketball was not announced until Kansas was en route to the Games, six days before their first competition. Stay tuned to PurdueSports.com, as television and streaming details emerge.
-- For comparison purposes, Kansas represented Team USA in the 2015 World University Games. The squad won the gold medal, winning the semifinal game against Russia 78-68, before defeating Germany for the Gold, 84-77 in double overtime. The Jayhawk squad also earned a 66-65 victory over Serbia during pool play.
