Game-day experience revitalized

IU football will be adding many bells and whistles to its football game-day experience this fall.

And a few ear-splitting gun blasts, as well.

Athletics director Fred Glass discussed the many new features for IU football games during his address to the media Tuesday’s annual media day.

“It is going to be fun,” Glass said. “The facilities are going to be great, but it’s about what you do inside…we are going to try to support (the team) in every way we can by making the fan experience one that people really enjoy.”

Some of the changes will be obvious to every fan – the scoreboard supports will be painted in candy-stripe pants style. The band will move to the new north end zone seating, placing the Marching Hundred much closer to the student section.

Fans sitting in the new north end zone sections can also participate in the “Kicks for Keeps” program. For any field-goal kicked during the game, the fan who catches the football can keep it. Glass hopes fans will throw footballs kicked by the opposing team back onto the field as they do at Wrigley Field.

With the new stadium renovations, Glass wants to brand Memorial Stadium as a unique place. The battleship guns on the west side of the stadiums will be used this season every time the Hoosiers score a point.

“You are going to see those guns shooting like a military salute and the loudest reverberation that we can conjure up in the stadium,” he said.

Many of the changes are aimed for students. This year, the team will have a game-day t-shirt which will be part of the Crimson Club rewards program. The Crimson Club was established this year to encourage student attendance at all IU athletic events.

Students will also be encouraged to bring friends from other colleges to the game – any student with a college ID can get a $5 football ticket this season. Previously, visiting students had to pay full price for a ticket.

“If we get inundated with student tickets for $5, I will deal happily with that challenge downstream,” Glass said.

The concessions and other vendors will also feature “Red Light Specials” for fans to take advantage of giveaways and discounts when the red light is turned on sporadically throughout the game.