Lipscomb University wins the NCAA/Conference 'Pack the House' challenge

Janel Shoun | 

Lipscomb University was one of 32 winners nationwide in the NCAA Division I “Pack the House” Challenge, a marketing initiative to boost women’s basketball. To honor the award, the NCAA has awarded $500 to Lipscomb’s selected nonprofit organization, Youth Encouragement Services, a youth organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children in inner city Nashville.

Lipscomb will present the $500 check to Youth Encouragement Services (YES) at 12:45 p.m., Friday, May 9, immediately before the Lipscomb Bisons baseball game at Dugan Field on the Lipscomb University campus.

YES operates three centers that offer educational and recreational programs as alternatives for kids during after school hours, weekends and summer break. The programs offered by YES effectively keep children living in the inner city off the street, giving them a safe place to go where they can engage in social, educational and cultural activities.

The “Pack the House” event is part of an NCAA initiative for women’s basketball, but the Lady Bisons chose to blend it with the “Think Pink” effort championed by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

Lipscomb marketing students Martha Johnson, Kelly Beckmann and Xander Vooys partnered with Baptist Sports Medicine, the healthcare provider for Allen Arena, to raise money, boost attendance at the Feb. 11 Lady Bisons basketball game and increase exposure for St. Thomas Health Services’ Oncology Institute.

“Pack the House” is a first-year national effort in which conferences and institutions compete to build attendance. 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.

The Lipscomb students coordinated corporate sponsors such as Chick-fil-A, Hampton Inn and Vietti Foods, and student activities such as a T-shirt give-away and a pre-game concert. All spectators were encouraged to wear pink on Pack the House night and Lipscomb donated the proceeds from ticket sales to breast cancer research.

Almost two-thirds of the Division I membership – 198 institutions – participated in the NCAA’s 2008 Pack the House effort that attracted more than 592,000 fans.