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    Postseason Pack the House winners named

    Apr 23, 2010 9:25:25 AM


    The NCAA News

     

    The NCAA is recognizing Knoxville, Tennessee, and Sacramento, California, as winners of the "Pack the House Host Challenge" for attendance during the 2010 Division I Women's Basketball Championship.

    The postseason "Pack the House Host Challenge" is an extension of the successful regular-season program that has been conducted since 2007. The two initiatives combined to draw more than 600,000 fans to women's basketball games this season. The goal of the program is to help schools grow the game at a grass-roots level with increased attendance and exposure of the championship experience for fans across the country.

    The NCAA program included all 16 first- and second-round sites competing against each other from March 20-23, while the four regional sites competed from March 27-29. 

    Knoxville (first and second rounds) and Sacramento (regional round) won the competition based on having the highest percentage of seating capacity filled and the most tickets sold by Selection Monday, March 15. Both hosting institutions − the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the University of the Pacific − will receive awards and the NCAA will provide a donation in the name of each institution to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.

    Knoxville posted a total attendance of 20,944 fans for the first- and second-round games played at Thompson-Boling Arena on the Tennessee campus, with 89.8 percent of seats filled for the "Pack the House Host Challenge" day.

    The Sacramento Regional, played at Arco Arena, drew 10,047 fans with 82 percent of the seats filled for the challenge day.

    "The Pack the House Challenge has had a great deal of success during the regular season the last four years," said Sue Donohoe, vice president of Division I women's basketball. "We were especially pleased to see the results of the postseason challenge for the championship. Our championship is at its best when our host personnel engage in key marketing initiatives. Congratulations to Knoxville and Sacramento on their championship efforts."