April 1, 2010
NORMAL, Ill. -
Illinois State was one of 33 winners in the NCAA Division I "Pack the House" Challenge. "Pack the House" is 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.
And pack the house, they did. More than half of the Division I membership - 181 institutions - participated in the effort that attracted more than 511,000 fans.
Illinois State hosted 4,162 fans, which at the time was the third-largest crowd in program history, at its women's basketball game on January 23 against Evansville.
"We believe this initiative has served as a catalyst to increase attendance, create excitement and enhance exposure for our women's basketball programs," NCAA Vice President of Division I Women's Basketball Sue Donohoe said. "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.
The Illinois State Athletics marketing staff distributed thousands of free admission coupons to businesses and organizations in Bloomington-Normal and offered a "text-in" option for fans to text the keyword "PACK" to receive a free ticket sent to their cell phone.
"Obviously we are excited to earn this recognition from the NCAA," ISU Assistant Athletics Director for Marketing and Promotions Brad Ledford said. "I think it is a true reflection of the success the Illinois State women's basketball program has had on the court with our student-athletes and coaches, as well as the efforts of our marketing department, especially Mark Newton, who spearheaded this event."
Virginia, from the Atlantic Coast Conference, was the overall winner nationally.
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