University of Tennessee Athletics
SEC TO CONTINUE PACK THE PARKS CAMPAIGN IN 2006
February 24, 2006 | Baseball
Feb. 24, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Southeastern Conference has announced its plans to continue its baseball attendance promotional campaign during the 2006 baseball season, aimed at drawing more than 1.5 million fans to SEC ballparks during the 2006 season. The promotion, entitled "Pack the Parks - The Drive for 1.5" will be updated regularly on the SEC's official website, www.SECSports.com.
In conjunction with the unprecedented promotional campaign in college baseball a year ago, the SEC designed various logos to accompany the campaign last season, as well as a 30-second television spot that aired regionally throughout the 2005 regular season and on videoboards at SEC ballparks. These items can be accessed, as well as current and past SEC baseball attendance information, on the SEC's official website as well.
Last season, the SEC drew 1,490,005 fans to its ballparks, an increase of over 163,000 from the 2004 season. The SEC reached the one-million mark in 2005 in mid April, the earliest it had ever reached that figure. The SEC's baseball attendance in 2005 was over 600,000 that of the next closest conference, the Big 12, who totaled 844,000 a year ago. Three of the top five and eight of the top 25 schools in NCAA baseball attendance in 2005 were SEC schools.
"We are very excited about continuing this promotion of SEC baseball," SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said. "Baseball in the SEC is something very special. Considering the excitement the campaign produced a year ago, and the fact we barely missed such an enormous goal, it only makes sense to continue the promotion this season."
Year after year, the SEC continues to be the benchmark in college baseball attendance. The SEC and its member schools own virtually all regular season, conference tournament, NCAA Regional and Super Regional attendance records. The SEC and one of its institutions have led the NCAA in total and average attendance for the last 10 seasons in a row, and 15 of the last 21 years.
During the 2005 season, for the first time in college baseball history, two schools (Ole Miss and Mississippi State) had on-campus crowds of over 10,000 fans for a regular season game on the same day. Not only were those two schools from the same conference, but they are, of course, from the same state as well.
The 2005 SEC Baseball Tournament, held in Hoover, Ala., drew 119,580 fans. That total was the third highest total attendance in the event's history. Over 12,000 fans were in attendance to the see championship game, the sixth largest single game crowd in tournament history and the third largest for a championship game. The 2003 SEC Baseball Tournament total attendance of 122,393 was the second largest total in tourney history, barely behind the 2002 event.
The SEC reached the one-million mark in attendance for the first time in 2002.
