New mobile app provides rewards for Rice sports fans
Rice University Athletics recently launched a student rewards app, allowing students to check in when they attend certain sporting events to gain virtual rewards.Rice Athletics Director of Marketing Vaughan Moss led the initiative, which officially launched at the Orientation Week Rice Rally. According to Moss, the new system is designed to increase spirit in the student body.“We are always looking for creative, new ways to engage students with athletics,” Moss said. “The app makes natural sense because everyone in the age group is always on their phones and always so connected.”The app was created with the help of the Rice Rally Club, a group dedicated to the promotion of overall school spirit on campus, according to Moss. The club, which reformed last year after a period of inactivity, presented Moss with the idea of a rewards system.“We thought the concept was a great one and I knew of a company, FanMaker, that made apps for this purpose,” Moss said. “Companies approach us all the time trying to sell ideas like this but FanMaker ended up being the one that had the best user interface and fit our budget.”Moss said the app boasts features such as the ability to send out mass messages to fans and a technology feature called Beacon, which detects fan location by connecting with their phones and Bluetooth devices. Moss said the GPS technology can recognize when you are in a certain athletic venue on campus.According to Moss, fans using the app will accrue points that then earn them points for prizes. Points can be earned by attending sporting events and by promoting Rice Athletics through social media. According to Moss, attending any sporting event on campus is 125 points. Connecting to social media, liking Rice’s football and basketball Facebook pages as well as retweeting Rice Athletics on Twitter will also earn points.Rewards will range from merchandise from Rice’s official athletic sponsor Adidas to gift cards from local sponsors such as Buffalo Wild Wings, according to Moss.Moss said he hopes the app will be especially effective in increasing attendance in sports that are working on building excitement and support.“The [men’s] basketball team, for example, is currently undergoing rebuilding under Coach [Mike] Rhoades and would really benefit from the support of the student body,” Moss said. “Hopefully they have such a great time coming to a game that they come back again and again.”Captain of the Rice Owls dance team May Zhong said the app could function as an equalizer of school spirit among different sports.“The dance team performs at a lot of different sporting events and I definitely got the sense that not every game got the same level of support and school spirit,” Zhong, a Baker College sophomore, said.Baker College freshman Matthew Ringheanu said he downloaded the app as soon as it was introduced at the O-Week Rally.“I haven’t been here very long but from what I’ve gauged so far, I think Rice is a very spirited school and has a great sense of family,” Ringheanu said. “This app would definitely help increase that sense of family.”The Rice Owls Rewards app is available on both the Apple Store and Google Play.