Crimson Club rewards students’ attendance

Students now have an extra incentive to attend IU athletics events.

Because of a new promotion by the IU Athletics Department, students can earn points to win prizes by attending regular-season games throughout the 2009-10 academic year. Students will not receive rewards at any postseason events.

Pat Kraft, IU senior assistant athletics director for marketing, said the club was started to encourage attendance at all sports.

“Indiana athletics will be better off with student support,” Kraft said.

Students are automatically entered into the club when they have their student ID scanned at their first event attended. To obtain points at every athletic event this year students must take their ID to a table by the main entrance of each facility.

Most events will earn each student one point, but big games and matches against Purdue will be worth more. Also students earn 10 points each by buying football and basketball season tickets.

When a student has earned a prize from the incentive they will be notified how to claim it via e-mail.  

Kraft said if any student has trouble getting their ID scanned at a given event they should tell a staff member, so their names can be reloaded into the system.

Students around campus, however, were not sure this campaign will get them to games.

Junior Michelle Kennedy said while she likes the idea of the club, she is not sure it will get her to attend IU contests.

“It is an added benefit,” Kennedy said. “But it will not make me go to more athletic events, necessarily.”  

Points will be reset at the end of each academic year, but not after a prize is won. Students can also track their points online at the IU athletics Web site.

Senior Sammy Jacobs said this might not lure him into events but something else would.

“It will not really make me want to go to athletic events,” Jacobs said. “What would make me go to games more often, though, was if going to other events got me better basketball seats.”

Kraft said he understands the Crimson Club is only one promotional idea and that more work needs to be done to get students in games.

“We want to create excitement at all events,” he said. “We only are successful as an athletics department when all students are at all events.”