NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State basketball program will hold its annual tip-off weekend on Oct. 27-29 that will include its two staples, the Tip-Off Banquet and Spartan Madness.

The ninth annual Tip-Off Banquet will take place on Thursday, Oct. 27. Then on Saturday night, Oct. 29, the basketball programs will hold Spartan Madness inside Joseph Echols Hall.

Tickets for both events are on sale now at NSUSpartansTickets.UniversityTickets.com or in person at the NSU Ticket Office between 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

ESPN/Andscape NBA senior writer Marc J. Spears will highlight the program's Tip-Off Dinner at the Chesapeake Conference Center on Oct. 27. Spears has covered the NBA for more than two decades, including stints at Yahoo! Sports, The Boston Globe and The Denver Post prior to his current role at ESPN.

Tickets for the dinner cost $85 per person and include dinner and access to raffle prizes. Table packages cost $850 for eight guests. For more information on the dinner, contact assistant coach Jamal Brown at gbrown@nsu.edu. The Chesapeake Conference Center is located at 700 Conference Center Drive.

Spartan Madness will take place on Oct. 29 beginning at 7 p.m. at Echols Hall. Doors open at 6 p.m. The event will be hosted by the voice of legendary Rucker Park, Mic Larry, featuring music by Izzy the DJ. Both basketball teams will be introduced, and they will also take part in separate 3-point shooting contests. The Norfolk State men will engage in a crowd favorite, the slam dunk contest.

Each team will compete in an intrasquad scrimmage for a first glimpse of their 2022-23 squads. One fan will also get the chance to win $50,000 in a shooting contest.

Tickets for Spartans Madness are $5. For more information about the event, contact assistant coach C.J. Clemons at clclemons@nsu.edu.

Fans should note that NSU Athletics' bag policy which was put in effect this year at Dick Price Stadium will also be in effect at Echols Hall this year, beginning with Spartan Madness.