USF Wins 2010 "Pack The House" Challenge

March 18, 2010

(San Francisco) - The University of San Francisco was named one of the 33 winners in the NCAA Division I "Pack the House" Challenge, as announced by the national office. USF was named the West Coast Conference winner for the national-wide contest in which conferences and institutions compete to build attendance at women's basketball games.

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.

The Dons will donate their prize winnings to the DeMarillac Academy of San Francisco. The DeMarillac Academy provides students in San Francisco's impoverished Tenderloin neighborhood with an education to escape the grip of poverty, achieve success and become service-oriented leaders.

San Francisco selected its game against Tennessee on December 22, 2009 as the "Pack the House" game. USF welcomed over 3,255 fans to War Memorial Gym, increasing attendance just under 400 percent. The attendance total was the highest for a USF women's basketball home game was the highest in the past decade.

"I am proud of the efforts our staff put towards winning the `Pack The House' Challenge," said USF athletic director Debra Gore-Mann. "Our support and women's basketball staff helped to make an electric atmosphere at War Memorial Gym that evening and I think this award is great recognition all for their hard work. Equally important, USF Athletics is honored to be able to donate our $500 award to the DeMarillac Academy, which has the same core values and ideals as the University of San Francisco."

This season, more than half of the Division I membership - 181 schools - participated in the effort that attracted more than 511,000 fans. Events at Army, Central Michigan, Duke, Houston Baptist, Jacksonville, Long Beach State, Middle Tennessee State, Niagara, Prairie View A&M and Xavier produced sell-out crowds. Sixty programs, including USF, surpassed their single-game attendance highs from last year.

"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 San Francisco, for example, utilized community outreach and worked with over 15 community groups from the greater San Francisco neighborhood. A majority of the groups were focused on youth girls basketball and promoting the sport. These groups included, but are not limited to, the LGBT San Francisco Community Center, Girl Scouts, Girls Inc. of Alameda, Girls on the Run, Girls Ventures, San Francisco Enchantees Girls Basketball, Boys and Girls Club, the US Coast Guard, the Maritime Academy, Travis Air Force Base, ROTC, the Institute on Aging, local CYO organizations, Oakland Parks and Recreation, as well as the University of San Francisco community and the university's local neighborhood.

ABOUT THE DE MARILLAC ACADEMY: Founded in 2001 by the Daughters of Charity and De La Salle Christian Brothers, the De Marillac Academy is an educational family that provides an innovative, comprehensive and accessible Catholic education in the Vincentian and Lasallian traditions for children from underserved, low-income familes in the Tenderloin and other at-risk communities in San Francisco.

Winners of the 209-10 NCAA "Pack the House" Challenge are:
CONFERENCE WINNERS
America East - Hartford
Atlantic Coast - Virginia
Atlantic Sun - Jacksonville
Atlantic 10 - Xavier
Big East - West Virginia
Big Sky - Weber State
Big South - Winthrop
Big Ten - Ohio State
Big 12 - Nebraska
Big West - Long Beach State
Colonial - Delaware
Conference USA - Tulsa
Great West - North Dakota
Horizon - Youngstown State
Ivy - Dartmouth
Metro Atlantic - Marist
Mid-American - Central Michigan
Mid-Eastern - Maryland-Eastern Shore
Missouri Valley - Illinois State
Mountain West - TCU
Northeast - Bryant
Ohio Valley - Eastern Illinois
Pacific-10 - UCLA
Patriot - Army
Southeastern - Kentucky
Southern - Appalachian State
Southland - Sam Houston State
SWAC - Prairie View A&M
Summit - Oral Roberts
Sun Belt - Middle Tennessee State
West Coast - San Francisco
WAC - Louisiana Tech
Independents - Longwood
OVERALL WINNER
Virginia - Atlantic Coast Conference