Penn Basketball Unveils Chipotle Men's Bathroom Presented by Taco Bell at the Palestra

Over the past year, Penn Athletics has taken advantage of the decreased traffic in their facilities due to COVID-19, making much-needed improvements to its historic playing fields, thanks to the help of some corporate sponsors (thanks, Wharton). Here are a few notable improvements to keep an eye out for when Penn’s campus starts to reopen. 

Chipotle Men’s Bathroom at the Palestra, presented by Taco Bell

The Palestra has always been an attractive venue for older alumni who were accustomed to packed arenas and Final Four appearances, but Penn has recently struggled to fill the arena with current college students. To encourage undergraduates to attend games, Penn basketball recently unveiled the Chipotle Men’s Bathroom at the Palestra, presented by Taco Bell. 

“Having years of experience here at Penn, if there’s one thing I can tell you about the priorities of undergraduates, it’s that bathrooms matter,” Director of Basketball Operations Justin Rogers said. “Van Pelt’s third-floor bathrooms will be empty when we’re finished with these.”

Initial student testimonies, though, told a different story. As part of an effort to gain insight into student feedback, some students were invited to test out the new facilities, including freshman Jessie Winters. 

“There’s definitely a lot of influence from Taco Bell and Chipotle in that bathroom,” Winters said. “I can safely say that I’ll be watching from my dorm next game.”

Penn football TikTok ClubHouse

Penn athletics has completed extensive renovations of Franklin Field in recent months, but team chatter is focused on the all-new TikTok ClubHouse. Inspired by Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster, Penn football administrators felt that the addition of the ClubHouse would bring much-needed clout to the organization. 

“When you have Harvard and Princeton churning out 25 TikToks per week, it’s clear we’re lagging behind our rivals,” emphasized social media communications director Theo Martin. “I don’t even know if a collab with Dixie D’Amelio could improve our position.”

Martin hopes that the TikTok ClubHouse will help increase awareness around Penn football. But for the players, the space serves as a place to strengthen team camaraderie and form new exciting ideas. 

“I can’t wait to dance on the Princeton logo with all my teammates for a TikTok after we get beat by 28 points,” said freshman guard Drew Detmer. “This is what makes Ivy League football worth it.”