UNC Asheville Athletics Earns Marketing Award from NCAA for "Pack The House"

ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? UNC Asheville was one of 32 winners in the NCAA Division I “Pack the House” Challenge this season in women's basketball.

“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 contest and designated that date as a “Pack the House” game. One winner from each of the 31 conferences and one from a group of independent institutions were named. Selections were based on marketing plan creativity and attendance criteria. UNC Asheville was the winner from the Big South Conference and joined such programs as Auburn, Georgia Tech, Illinois and Notre Dame as recipients of this award.

The NCAA will award prizes and donate $500 to the nonprofit organization of each winning institution's choice.

Almost two-thirds of the Division I membership ? 184 institutions ? participated in the effort that attracted more than 559,000 fans.

UNC Asheville hosted 589 fans at its women's basketball game on Jan. 31 when the Bulldogs hosted Winthrop.

The institutions used creative and diverse ideas to draw fans.

Erin Punter, UNC Asheville's Director of Marketing and Promotions, had several unique ideas for the game against Winthrop. UNC Asheville hosted the Girl Scouts and had a pool party after the game with the Bulldog team joining them. The school's annual “Take a Kid to the Game Day” also occurred on the same day. In addition, the UNC Asheville Athletics Department teamed up with its Wellness Activities for Seniors program. The WASA group invited its members to the game and put on an impressive demonstration at halftime that included several senior citizens demonstrating aerobics, chair exercises, flexibility and strength training.

“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.”

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

UNC Asheville Athletics Earns Marketing Award from NCAA for "Pack The House"

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