MAAC Schools to Participate in Women's Basketball Initiatives
MAAC Sports
Edison, NJ - All ten MAAC schools will participate in a number of women's basketball initiatives, including "Pack the House" Challenge, WBCA Pink Zone™, and Kid's Day Out, during the 2009-10 season. These programs are designed to increase interest and awareness in women's basketball at both the local and national levels. The dates each member school will be participating in these events can be found here.
"Pack the House" is a 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 will be named. Selections are based on marketing plan creativity and attendance criteria. The NCAA will award prizes and donate money to the nonprofit organization of each winning institution's choice. Niagara University was named the MAAC winner of the 2009 "Pack the House" Challenge. In addition, Marist College is the only school in the nation to sell out its “Pack the House” date in both 2008 and 2009.
The WBCA Pink Zone™ initiative is a global, unified effort for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) nation of coaches to assist in raising breast cancer awareness on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. The WBCA began the WBCA Pink Zone, formerly known as "Think Pink", in 2007 as an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women's basketball, on campuses and in communities. Kay Yow, former North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach, served as the catalyst for the initiative after her third reoccurrence of breast cancer in 2006. In 2007, more than 120 schools unified for this effort and helped make the inaugural year a success. In 2008, over 1,100 teams and organizations participated, reaching over 830,000 fans and raising over $930,000 for breast cancer awareness and research. The 2009 campaign raised over $1.3 million, reached over 912,000 fans, unified more than 1,600 participating teams and organizations, and saw 56+ schools break attendance records at their event. The WBCA's charity of choice is the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund®, in partnership with The V Foundation. The Pink Zone dates for 2010 will February 12-21. Click here for more information.
Kid’s Day Out is a league wide program that gives local school children the opportunity to experience MAAC Women's Basketball first-hand. Children in attendance will have a chance to win a variety of prizes and sing along to their favorite songs. Teachers can contact Meghan Bertovich, Director of Women's Basketball Operations at the MAAC, for lesson plans related to the event.