Air Force Academy

March 11, 2011

Air Force 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 women's basketball attendance.

Participating schools in the initiative 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 donate $500 to the nonprofit organization of each winning institution's choice.

More than half of the Division I membership - 178 institutions - participated in the effort that attracted more than 554,000 fans. Air Force hosted 2,907 fans during its televised women's basketball game against in-state and conference rival Colorado State on Jan. 25, setting a new Division I home attendance record for the Falcons. The previous record of 2,892 was set on Jan. 31, 2002, during a game versus Wyoming.

In addition, the Colorado State game marked the first time since the 2007-08 season that more than 2,000 fans have attended a women's basketball contest in Clune Arena.

Events at Army, Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga, Louisville, Marist, Michigan State, Navy, Oregon and Pacific produced sell-out crowds, while 69 programs, including Air Force, 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."