CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Big South Conference has been awarded $85,000 by the NCAA Women’s Basketball Grant Program for the 2009-10 academic year to help further advance the game of women’s basketball at all levels, it was announced today by the NCAA.
 
The Big South Conference and its nine women’s basketball playing member institutions will utilize the grant through a new “Fantastic Fan Program,” a Conference-wide frequent fan promotion developed to increase attendance at Big South women’s basketball games by 50 percent within three years.  The “Fantastic Fan Program” aims to increase attendance by an average of 20 percent at Big South women’s basketball games in 2009-10 by developing relationships betweens teams and fans, and rewarding loyalty. 

“The Big South Conference has a tremendous history of success in women’s basketball,” said Big South Commissioner Kyle B. Kallander.  “We are excited to build on that success through this grant program, and are grateful to the NCAA for the opportunity.  Being selected to receive the grant is also a credit to the hard work and support of the Big South member institutions to women’s basketball and their dedication to the enhancement of the sport.”

“On behalf of the Big South Conference women’s basketball coaches, I want to say thank you to all those who made it possible for the Big South to receive the NCAA women’s basketball grant,” added Betsy Blose, UNC Asheville women’s basketball coach and chair of the Big South women’s basketball coaches committee.  “A special thank you to Commissioner Kyle Kallander and the entire Big South staff for their many efforts to improve our game.  All our member schools and women’s basketball programs will benefit from this gift.”

The “Fantastic Fan Program” will feature its own unique logo to identify the initiative as well as brand women’s basketball, will have an extensive web campaign created by the member institutions and Conference office, will include various promotional platforms, and will have a grand prize of a trip for two to the 2010 NCAA Women’s Final Four (tickets, hotel and airfare), courtesy of the Big South Conference.  Specific details on the “Fantastic Fan Program” will be announced at a later date.

A total of 75 member schools and conferences submitted proposals in the second of a three-year pilot program.  NCAA office staff and representatives from the NCAA women’s basketball marketing consultant firm Hawkeye Sports and Entertainment evaluated the proposals.

Joining the Big South Conference as grant recipients are Auburn, Cornell, East Tennessee State, Eastern Michigan, Iowa State, Patriot League, San Diego State, UCLA, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, Hartford, Kansas, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina, South Carolina, West Coast Conference and the Western Athletic Conference.

“We are pleased with the success of many of last year’s grant recipients and are excited to see what these new recipients are able to achieve with this assistance,” said NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Vice President Sue Donohoe. “When resources are allocated and efforts are focused to promote women’s basketball, it can provide a meaningful return on the investment.”

Among 2008-09 grant recipient success stories include Texas Tech doubling student attendance for women’s basketball home games, Florida State increasing season ticket sales by 63 percent with a 57 percent increase in overall attendance for women’s basketball, Columbia increasing season ticket sales by 68 percent, and multiple schools enjoying record-setting single game attendance marks.

The program will continue to undergo yearly evaluations to determine if the objectives are being met.  The grants will continue to be awarded on a one-year basis and are not automatically renewed.  Grant recipients are required to submit a monthly progress report as well as a final summary report.  Those recipients receiving a grant for the second consecutive year include East Tennessee State, Patriot League and San Diego State.

“The first year of the grant program went very well and we are anticipating more success in year two,” said Donohoe.  “The membership has had a tremendous interest in securing grant resources to advance women’s basketball.  It is important that we continue to work to grow women’s basketball from the inside out and at the grass roots level.” 

The idea for the marketing grant program came from the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Discussion Group, chaired by NCAA President Myles Brand.  The group consisted of head coaches, media representatives, former student-athletes and conference, institutional and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association administrators.  Additionally, this initiative has been strongly supported by the Division I Women’s Basketball Committee, as well as the Division I Women’s Basketball Issues Committee.

ABOUT THE NCAA AND DIVISION I WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The NCAA is a membership-led nonprofit association of colleges and universities committed to supporting academic and athletic opportunities for more than 400,000 student-athletes at more than 1,000 member colleges and universities.  Each year, more than 54,000 student-athletes compete in NCAA championships in Division I, II and III sports.  Visit www.ncaa.org and www.ncaa.com for more details about the Association, its goals, members and corporate partnerships that help support programs for student-athletes.

NCAA women’s basketball is characterized by strong fundamentals, high quality of play, sportsmanship, role model student-athletes and family oriented entertainment.  For the latest news in regard to the Women’s Final Four, visit www.ncaa.com/finalfour.

ABOUT THE BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE
The Big South Conference is celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2008-09, and since its founding in 1983, the Conference has matured into a competitive leader in college athletics, actively pursuing excellence on the field of play and in the classroom.  Comprised of 10 member institutions throughout the Southeast, the Big South continues to be a national leader on the field through its 18 championship sports while intentionally fostering the academic, personal, social, athletic and leadership development of each student-athlete.  Charleston Southern University, Coastal Carolina University, Gardner-Webb University, High Point University, Liberty University, Presbyterian College, Radford University, UNC Asheville, Virginia Military Institute and Winthrop University comprise the membership of the Conference, which is based in Charlotte, N.C.  Campbell University will join the League in 2011-12.  The Big South is online at www.BigSouthSports.com.