SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Sacramento State was one of 33 winners in the NCAA Division I “Pack the House” Challenge. “Pack the House” is a national effort in which conferences and institutions compete to build attendance.
NCAA Division I women’s basketball marketing staffs selected a home game and designated that date as a “Pack the House” game with the goal of setting an attendance record. One winner from each of the 32 conferences and one from a group of independent institutions were named. Selections were based on marketing plan creativity and attendance criteria. The NCAA will award prizes and donate $500 to the nonprofit organization of each winning institution’s choice. Sacramento State has chosen ALS - Greater Sacramento Chapter as its non-profit organization.
And pack the house, they did. More than half of the Division I membership – 178 institutions – participated in the effort that attracted more than 554,000 fans.
Sacamento State hosted 537 fans at its women’s basketball game against Portland State on Jan. 29, 2010.
The Hornets, in conjunction with their "Threes for the Disease" campaign in support of ALS research and awareness, will present the $500 donation from the NCAA for "Pack the House" to the ALS - Greater Sacramento Chapter. Jiffy Lubes of Greater Sacramento pledged $10 to ALS for every made 3-point basket (216) by the Hornets this season and Jiffy Lube's $2,160 donation will be presented, along with all proceeds from ticket sales to the "Pack the House" event, to ALS - Greater Sacrameto Chapter as well.
Events at Army, Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Louisville, Marist, Michigan State, Navy, Oregon and Pacific produced sell-out crowds. Sixty-nine programs surpassed their single-game attendance highs from last year. Sacramento State was just 15 fans short of setting a new single game attendance record.
“We believe this initiative has served as a catalyst to increase attendance, create excitement and enhance exposure for our women’s basketball programs,” said NCAA Vice President of Division I Women’s Basketball Sue Donohoe. “Institution personnel committed a great deal of time, effort and resources to this program and the results were extremely positive. This program provides great ‘best practices’ and examples of success for institutions that are seeking to ‘grow’ women’s basketball and these success stories will continue to strengthen efforts in the future.”
The ideas to market the games were as diverse as the membership itself.
At Sacramento State, director of marking and promotions Adam C. Primas worked with ALS - Greater Sacramento Chapter, the Green Army, Pepsi Kids Clinic, Ticket to College, cheer and dance groups and Mercy Ministries to support the event.
“I would like to thank all the groups and staff members that we worked with to promote this event," Primas said. "Bringing more energy to that game made it all worth it. I look forward to working with everyone again next year to make our "Pack the House" game bigger and better than ever."
This is the second time in the last four years that Sacramento State has won the NCAA Division I "Pack the House" Challenge for the Big Sky Conference.
Winners of the 2010-11 NCAA “Pack the House” Challenge:
CONFERENCE WINNERS
America East – Binghamton University
Atlantic Coast – Duke
Atlantic Sun – Florida Gulf Coast
Atlantic 10 – Rhode Island
Big East – Louisville Big Sky –Sacramento State
Big South – Gardner-Webb
Big Ten – Michigan State
Big 12 – Kansas State
Big West – Pacific
Colonial – Old Dominion
Conference USA – Houston
Great West – Utah Valley
Horizon – Green Bay
Ivy – Pennsylvania
Metro Atlantic – Marist
Mid-American – Central Michigan
Mid-Eastern – South Carolina State
Missouri Valley – Wichita State
Mountain West – Air Force
Northeast – Central Connecticut State
Ohio Valley – Eastern Illinois
Pacific-10 – Oregon
Patriot – Army
Southeastern – Auburn
Southern – Samford
Southland – Texas State
SWAC – Jackson State
Summit – Oral Roberts
Sun Belt – Western Kentucky
West Coast – San Francisco
WAC – Louisiana Tech
Independents – Longwood
OVERALL WINNER
Marist – Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
