Courtesy of Mike Carnahan of the Republican Herald. Read the full story here: College basketball games coming to Martz Hall
 
When Eric Rismiller became Pottsville's athletic director in 2010, he got a directive from the school board.
 
"The board told me that one of my jobs is to fill Martz Hall as often as possible," Rismiller said.
 
One of his ideas to fill it was bringing college basketball to Pottsville. After two years of planning, it will finally happen.
 
Martz Hall will host a trio of college games over the next week, starting Nov. 20 when Penn State Hazleton (4-1 women, 2-2 men) takes on Penn State Schuylkill (2-0, 1-0 women; 0-4, 0-1 men) in a Penn State University Athletic Conference doubleheader. The women's game tips off at 6:30 p.m., while the men's starts at 8:30.
 
Martz Hall will then host the first Crimson Tide Invitational on Tuesday when Philadelphia University (0-2) takes on Kutztown University (1-3) at 7 p.m. The game features former Pottsville stars Nick Schlitzer (Philadelphia University) and Brandon Bridy (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) (Kutztown).
 
Schlitzer is a 2011 Crimson Tide graduate and is a 6-foot-6 senior guard for the Rams. Bridy, a 6-2 sophomore for the Bears, graduated from Pottsville in 2013.
 
Admission to Tuesday's contest is $5.
 
This won't be the first time Martz Hall has hosted college basketball games. Plans are in the works to make sure this isn't the last.
 
Rismiller remembers watching Bucknell play Niagara at Martz Hall in the late 1990s, while his first year as Pottsville athletic director was Schlitzer's senior season for the Crimson Tide in 2010-11.
 
"I said at the time 'I really want to keep seeing him play," Rismiller said of Schlitzer. "I thought this would be a great thing to do, bring college games in."
 
Picking Philadelphia University and Kutztown as a potential game to bring in became even easier when Bridy, ended up committing to the Bears. The game is already on both school's yearly schedule, with Philadelphia winning last year 85-66. Schlitzer scored 12 points in the game and Bridy nine.
 
Kutztown will be the home team Tuesday.
 
Rismiller said that both school's athletic directors, Tom Shirley at Philadelphia and Greg Bamberger at Kutztown, liked the idea, provided Pottsville pays for the transportation costs and for the game officials.
 
Tickets for Tuesday's game have been on sale for about two months. Craig Shields, director of the Pottsville Housing Authority, said the exact number of pre-sale tickets sold for the game won't be available until Friday. His goal is to get 1,000 to attend Tuesday's game.
 
Shields added that the cost to hold Tuesday's contest has been covered by 12 local businesses that have agreed to sponsor the game. The rest of the money collected from ticket sales will serve as a fund raiser for the Pottsville Boys' Basketball Booster Club.
 
Officials from Kutztown University were at Martz Hall on Tuesday evening painting the college 3-point lines on the floor. The shot clocks were installed two weeks ago and are mounted on the wall behind each backboard. During the high school season, the clocks will display the regular game time.
 
Rismiller is already looking into who will play at Martz Hall next year. And the idea to bring college sporting events to Martz Hall isn't limited to basketball. Rismiller said that Penn State has been contacted about the possibility of bringing a Nittany Lion wrestling dual meet to Pottsville in future, perhaps against Lehigh.
 
"Two years ago I started thinking about doing this," Rismiller said. "Now my head is spinning because I've been contacting coaches throughout the Schuylkill League, and I said 'Find me kids who have played in the league who are playing in colleges around here because I want to bring them in.' I think it is great to showcase our local kids and bring teams in here.
 
"We hope we can put on a good show here."
 
Martz Hall lineup
Men
 
Crimson Tide Classic
 
Philadelphia University (0-2) vs. Kutztown University (1-3), 7 p.m.
 
Cost: $5. Tickets are available at the Pottsville Area High School and at the Pottsville Housing Authority. Game features Pottsville High School graduates Nick Schlitzer (Philadelphia) and Brandon Bridy (Pottsville, Pa./Pottsville Area) (Kutztown)