Lincoln Hall packed the placed Thursday night.

Pack the Place: Residence Hall Competition went from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Lantz Arena.

Check-in for residence halls started at 5 p.m. and the actual game started at 5:30 p.m.

This was the third and final installment of the competition sponsored by the athletic department and The Agency.

Ryan Gilmore, director of marketing and promotions, said Pack the Place has exposed Eastern’s basketball and football to students that may not have otherwise shown up.

The Agency has also helped bring exposure to the residence halls, according to Gilmore.

“I wouldn’t say we had poor attendance before, but we are able to fill in the parts of the student section that we normally would not fill in,” Gilmore said. “I think it is a good partnership and cool for somebody to take interest in athletics.”

Lincoln was the winner of this Pack the Place event, with Taylor coming in second.

“The winning residence hall had the highest percentage so far,” Gilmore said. “This has definitely brought (athletics) some exposure.”

Gilmore said he appreciates the support and hopes to work together with more projects similar to this one in the future.

Two other Pack the Place events took place earlier in the year. The first was on November 15 and was a senior night football game.

“Lincoln Hall won that,” said Cory Dimitrakopoulos, student director of The Agency.

The second one was a men’s basketball game on December 4. Taylor Hall won that and a free iPod nano was given away at halftime.

“All that participated from the winning residence hall got pizza from the athletic department at a later date,” Dimitrakopoulos said.

At this game, a digital camera was the final giveaway at halftime and athletic bags and pom-poms were given to participants at check-in.

Douglas Hall won last night’s Pack the Place, so they will get pizza at a later date.

“It is only for residents who actually attended,” Dimitrakopoulos said. “Attendance has been increasing since the first one.”

A total of 112 students participated in this particular Pack the Place.

“The incentive to come was a pizza party, and I think Lincoln Hall won because it is home to most sophomore and freshman girls’ basketball players,” said Diana Zultowski, a sophomore physical education major.

“The Agency is still deciding whether or not to continue the residence hall competition,” Dimitrakopoulos said. “Students have given us positive feedback when we’ve asked what they think about the campaign and events, so it may be a good way to keep students coming by continuing the competition.”

Heather Holm can be reached at 581-7942 or haholm@eiu.edu.