Tyrese Haliburton buys student section tickets for Iowa State students in his preseason return

AMES, Iowa — Iowa State students got in free to Tyrese Haliburton’s homecoming game Wednesday night, thanks to the superstar himself.

Sixteen months after tearing his Achilles in the 2025 NBA Finals, Haliburton is making his return to NBA action at Hilton Coliseum, his alma mater, for Indiana’s first preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In his return, he wanted to cultivate the college basketball fan environment. So, he paid for every single student section ticket himself.

“I know that nobody is as passionate about Iowa State as the current students, so I’m excited for them to be there and just experience all that,” Haliburton said at practice on Wednesday. “The college basketball environment is much better than the NBA, from a top to bottom perspective, so I’m excited for there to be a college basketball vibe in there.”

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The student section at Hilton Coliseum sits behind both baskets, and the line to get a spot wrapped around the building by the time doors opened an hour and half before game time. Inside, every student got a yellow ‘Cyclone Hali’ t-shirt, which depicted Haliburton wrapped up in a cyclone.

Haliburton didn’t know how many tickets he bought, Pacers head coach Carlisle said, but he estimated it was in the thousands.

“This is just another one of those amazing gestures of Tyrese’s family,” Carlisle said. “We pulled in here, and it took a while to get in here, there’s a huge line at the front door, and it looks like a bunch of students. I’ve been in here for games a couple times, and this is one of the best venue in all of college basketball, and so I’m expecting it’s going to be pretty cool here tonight.”

Haliburton knows, too, that not all the students will be rooting for him — especially because the majority of Iowans in this area are Timberwolves fans. There were some students in Timberwolves jerseys in line, and even someone in a Milwaukee Bucks jersey waiting to get in.

The student section at Hilton Coliseum spans behind both baskets, and the line was wrapped around the building by the time students were let in.

“I don’t know if it’ll be all Pacers fans in there, it’ll be some Timberwolves fans too,” Haliburton said on Wednesday with a laugh. “But it’ll be fun, I’m excited for everybody to experience Hilton Coliseum.”

Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.