Courtesy: Mark Washburn

HANOVER, N.H. - Dartmouth College women's basketball has been named one of 33 winners in the NCAA Division I "Pack the House" Challenge, a nationwide attendance competition.

"Pack the House" is a national effort in which conferences and institutions compete to build attendance. Each participating institution designated one date as a "Pack the House" game with the goal of setting an attendance record.

One winner from each of the 32 Division I conferences and one from a group of independent institutions were named. Selections were based on marketing plan creativity and attendance criteria. The University of Virginia was the NCAA's national challenge winner.

Dartmouth, the Ivy League winner, hosted 1,619 fans for its victory over Ivy rival Harvard on January 16. While that figure did not break the Big Green's attendance record - 2,153 fans to see Dartmouth play Duke in 2006 - it was the highest-attended women's basketball game of this season, and 12th highest all-time. Dartmouth also broke its student-attendance record from last season with more than 250 students cheering the Big Green to victory.

Dartmouth's Pack the House marketing team, led by Josh Hartman, utilized a variety of tools to promote the contest. In addition to giveaways at the game, Dartmouth raffled off an autographed basketball and granted free admission to educators at all levels and town of Hanover employees.

In addition to institutional prizes, the NCAA will donate $500 to the nonprofit organization of each winning school's choice. Dartmouth has asked that the NCAA make its donation to the Upper Valley Haven, which is a local shelter for homeless families, also providing food, clothing and other services to our neighbors in need.

The Dartmouth women's basketball team has worked closely with The Haven, including tutoring children and hosting a food drive earlier this season.

More than half of the Division I membership - 181 schools, including five Ivy League schools - participated in the effort that attracted more than 511,000 fans.

"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."

Led by head coach Chris Wielgus, who just completed her 25^th season, Dartmouth is the winningest program in Ivy League women's basketball history. Dartmouth boasts staggering 17 Ivy League Championships out of a possible 34, has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances and this season, became the first Ivy to surpass 300 conference victories.

CONFERENCE WINNERS
America East - Hartford
Atlantic Coast - Virginia
Atlantic Sun - Jacksonville
Atlantic 10 - Xavier
Big East - West Virginia
Big Sky - Weber State
Big South - Winthrop
Big Ten - Ohio State
Big 12 - Nebraska
Big West - Long Beach State
Colonial - Delaware
Conference USA - Tulsa
Great West - North Dakota
Horizon - Youngstown State
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
SWAC - Prairie View A&M
Summit - Oral Roberts
Sun Belt - Middle Tennessee State
West Coast - San Francisco
WAC - Louisiana Tech
Independents - Longwood

OVERALL WINNER
Virginia - Atlantic Coast Conference