Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh Athletics donates Pack the House winnings
4/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
 |
Lehigh’s old regular season women’s basketball non-doubleheader attendance record was 1,430 – set in February of 2007. On February 9, 2008 Lehigh broke that record with 1,742 fans in attendance as the Mountain Hawks squared off with league foe American at Stabler Arena.
Rich Haas, Lehigh’s Director of Ticket Sales and Event Marketing coordinated a large number of the event’s activities, including the planning and execution. “The planning process began with our External Relations Committee, along with head women’s basketball coach Sue Troyan, framing the event,” Haas explained. “Our Event Marketing and Promotions staff coordinated the day-to-day efforts, and we had tremendous buy-in from the entire athletic department and campus community.”
He added, “The staff at Susan G. Komen provided ribbons for staff and fans to wear, and information on Breast Cancer Awareness, which enhanced the event.”
Dolly Woody has worked at the northeast affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Foundation in
Woody said the foundation puts on numerous events every year similar to what Lehigh did. “We go out to various games or camps and accept donations. This past year a ski resort put on a clinic that helped to raise money. Sometimes people will just call and say they want to help.”
Pack the House was a first-year national effort in which conferences and institutions competed 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. Nearly 200 institutions took part in the effort, attracting more than 592,000 fans to their campuses.
Other schools of note from around the country that won Pack the House included
Haas offered his thoughts on what winning the challenge meant. “Most importantly, winning this challenge means we received an additional $500 to help find a cure for breast cancer. It means that the Lehigh campus’ support for women's basketball is growing, and we expect it will
continue to grow next season.”
He added, “It is also another example of the University and
attendance record and win this challenge. Everyone who purchased tickets to this game helped raise money for breast cancer research through the generosity of Coach Troyan.”
As part of the WBCA’s Think Pink initiative and in support of breast cancer awareness, all fans were encouraged to wear pink to the game. The Mountain Hawks players wore pink t-shirts during pre-game warm ups and Troyan donated $1 for every ticket sold to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
“All of the head women’s basketball coaches nationwide decided that the Think Pink initiative was important,” Troyan commented. “It helped to raise over one million dollars and my thought was to intertwine that with the Pack the House Challenge.”
She continued, “On behalf of our entire program I would like to extend our thanks and appreciation for all of the work that everyone did to Pack the House. From the marketing and promotion aspect to the support of our fans, everything that went into that event made it a special night.”
She added, “It was nice for our kids to play in front of a crowd like that, to see the support from our students and the community. It was a fun atmosphere.”
Pack the House Night was also Lehigh’s annual Girl Scout Night, as more than 150 girl scouts and brownies were invited to attend the game along with their families. The girl scouts participated in pre-game activities with all of Lehigh’s women’s varsity sports programs and were recognized during a halftime banner parade on the court.
Other activities for that evening included the Williams Township Wildcats girls basketball team playing on the court in a halftime game and the 22nd annual National Girls and Women in Sport Day, which honors achievements and encourages participation of girls and women in sports.
“From the Girl Scout activities, to the Think Pink initiative, to the post-game autograph session, and every promotion in between, this was a fun day for all the fans and staff involved,” Haas said.
The Patriot League’s Executive Director, Carolyn Femovich spoke of Lehigh’s marketing plans and collaborative efforts to Pack the House. “Lehigh’s marketing plan provided a creative approach toward attracting a variety of audiences to the game, with a primary focus on the community’s youth, such as the Girls Scouts. By including community-based non-profit organizations, as well as its student body, Lehigh was able to craft a great game atmosphere for the Pack the House Challenge night.”
Lehigh’s student-athletes have long been known for their commitment to community service and for doing their part to support a specific cause. Roseann Corsi, Lehigh’s Public Relations Coordinator gave her thoughts on the efforts of Lehigh’s student-athletes involved with the Pack the House initiative.
“I honestly can say that when we do a charity event our student athletes always step up to the plate and do an amazing job; they have such big hearts.” She continued, “We also received so much support from our students, faculty and staff with this event. The Susan G. Komen Foundation has become one of the largest foundations across the country. Many of us probably know or have known someone that has been diagnosed with breast cancer and it seems that more and more people support this charity each day.”
Lehigh senior women’s basketball student-athletes Kaela Pearce and Claire Sullivan were very appreciative of the support towards them and their teammates on that February night. “It was a great crowd and a great atmosphere,” Sullivan commented. “I was happy to see that so many people came out to support a great cause.”
Pearce added her thoughts, “I think over the past couple of years our program has taken
some big steps in our performance and to fill that many seats on Pack the House night was huge encouragement for us. It showed an appreciation for all of us coming from not only our friends and family, but also from fellow classmates, the Lehigh community, and the people of the city of
She continued, “It's not often that a women’s game draws that much attention at Lehigh so that also shows the strides in female athletics that have been made over the past few years.”
Corsi echoed those sentiments. “The crowd on the night of Pack the House was great. The energy of the crowd and the atmosphere was definitely different; when you looked around Stabler you were seeing pink everywhere. The Susan G. Komen Foundation is so well known across the country and when you see pink you know what that means.”
She added, “Everyone was more than happy to support the Breast Cancer Awareness and really showed their true colors that night. This had to be the first night I didn't wear brown to a Lehigh event.”
“Attendance at women’s basketball games continues to grow nationally as more people in the local communities are exposed to the high level of play and fan-friendly environment,” explained Femovich. “The student-athletes are great role models and are very accessible to the fans. As the game continues to grow within the Patriot League, we expect to see an increase in the grass roots fans attending Patriot League contests due to the efforts of our schools and their local communities.”
