MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Middle Tennessee athletic department was recently recognized as the Sun Belt Conference champion for the NCAA's "Pack the House" Challenge and as one of 33 overall winners. The Blue Raider marketing and promotions department, led by Assistant Athletic Director Brad Smith, spearheaded the effort as Middle Tennessee won the "Pack the House" Challenge for the second time in three years.

By virtue of being chosen as the Sun Belt's winner, the NCAA will present a $500 check to the charity of Middle Tennessee's choosing. The Blue Raiders have selected the Murfreesboro City Schools Foundation as the organization to receive the donation.

Middle Tennessee chose the women's basketball game against Tennessee November 25 as its "Pack the House" night, which is a national effort in which conferences and institutions compete to build attendance 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 and selections were based on marketing plan creativity and attendance criteria.

"Our crowds at our women's basketball games are always tremendous, but during the Tennessee game it was a special night," Chris Massaro, Middle Tennessee Director of Athletics said. "The efforts of a number of people within our department came together to produce a memorable atmosphere for our fans.

"We are proud to be able to present the donation check to the Murfreesboro City Schools Foundation. It is another example of how strong the relationship is between the community and our athletic department."

The Blue Raiders' game with the Lady Vols drew a Murphy Center women's record 11,802 fans, becoming the second game in program history to surpass the 10,000 mark. Middle Tennessee was one of 11 schools to produce a sellout and one of 60 to top the single-game attendance high from last year.

Overall, more than half of the Division I membership - 181 institutions - participated in the effort that attracted more than 511,000 fans.

Winners of the 2009-10 NCAA "Pack the House" Challenge are:
Sun Belt - Middle Tennessee
America East - Hartford
Atlantic Coast - Virginia (overall winner)
Atlantic Sun - Jacksonville
Atlantic 10 - Xavier
Big East - West Virginia
Big Sky - Weber State
Big South - Winthrop
Big 10 - Ohio State
Big 12 - Nebraska
Big West - Long Beach State
Colonial - Delaware
Conference USA - Tulsa
Great West - North Dakota
Horizon - Youngstown State
Independents - Longwood
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
Southwestern Athletic - Prairie View A&M
Summit - Oral Roberts
West Coast - San Francisco
Western Athletic - Louisiana Tech

Print this article

Comments