Views expressed in opinion columns are the author’s own.
Picture this scenario: SECU Stadium’s lights are on and a Maryland football game is in full swing. The crowd cheers close to halftime, with the Terps taking the lead in score. You’re standing shoulder-to-shoulder with your friends and family, chanting in unison as the timer ticks down.
This scenario depicts a typical evening or late night football game at any college, not just ours. Football is not just a sport about scoring touchdowns and winning points: It brings together friends, family and others who have a shared interest in supporting their community.
Attendance at sporting events does not necessarily translate to having a passion for the sport; sometimes, students attend because their friends are going, they have family coming over to watch a sporting rivalry or distancing themselves from the stressful workload they face during the week.
The University of Maryland has been facing issues regarding sporting event attendance, with numbers declining by each game. I remember since my freshman year, the amount of enthusiasm and number of eager fans have declined. There are numerous factors that contribute to this issue: bad weather, lack of student support, busy schedules and more.
Football is just an example of the D1 sports this university offers. Given this dilemma, Maryland athletics needs to promote higher student attendance at games.
Students make up the majority of the community, and without them, there would be no university sporting events. According to Maryland sport psychology director Kristi Hall, teams win more often at home than away at other universities. While we cannot have our teams playing the games at home base, we have to think of other solutions.
There are multiple solutions to bringing students to more sporting events, but the one that may attract the most individuals are apparel giveaways at games. We students will seize the opportunity to receive free items in the form of T-shirts or other merch. We’re paying a hefty amount to be here, and pay an athletic fee in our bill, why not get a bang for the buck? The university currently gives away merch mostly before games, causing early arrivals to leave early. Distributing merch at various points during the game could encourage more students to stay longer.
The athletic department should increase the quantity of apparel giveaways to draw more students to sporting events, especially with big rivalry events such as when we face Penn State in football and Duke in basketball.
Temple University had the same issue of student attendance at games declining by the year. Upon sending a survey to the students, Temple University discovered that giveaways of any type were the main indicator of increased attendance rates at games. With this in mind, perhaps increasing the number of giveaways at university related sporting events is the way to go, even if it means students are attending just for the sake of receiving a material incentive.
Maryland could also implement Florida State University’s “Spear it Rewards” program, which rewards students with points for attending sporting events. The more points, the more prizes and high-demand games students are eligible for. The Florida program increased student attendance at all games by more than 32 percent within a year, all through marketing through the point system.
This university uses a similar loyalty rewards system to manage student access to high-demand athletic events, awarding points to those who regularly attend games and deducting points from those who claim tickets but do not show up.
Maryland athletics could expand their current rewards program to include more giveaways of apparel and merchandise, allowing students who qualify for high-demand games to automatically qualify for apparel at giveaways. This should especially be done for non-mainstream sporting events, such as soccer and baseball.
When the stands are filled, the energy transforms the game into an unforgettable experience for both the players and the fans. Supporting all sports not only rewards the athletes’ hard work but also deepens campus unity and pride.
By increasing the number of giveaways part of a larger effort to energize campus spirit, Maryland athletics can rebuild the sense of tradition that once made our stands roar.
Rishab Sai is a sophomore public health practice major. He can be reached at rsai1@terpmail.umd.edu.
