CHARLOTTE, N.C.- The Queens University of Charlotte Student Government Association (SGA) and the Sports Marketing Association (SMA) have joined forces to create the Royals PRIDE Program. The program, which rewards students for attending athletic events, will launch Saturday, January 16 as the Royals men's and women's basketball teams take on Pfeiffer University.
The program is available to each and every student on campus and each student that signs up will receive a unique barcode to be placed on their Queens student ID. At home games the students will scan their barcoded ID card and earn the designated points for attending the contest. Once enough points have been accumulated the student will receive a free gift as a reward for their support of the athletics programs.
"The Royals Pride Program is a great investment for Queens as a whole because our school needed some way of improving student turnout at athletic events,” said James Johnson, Executive SGA President. “These teams work hard and deserve the support of fellow students. Support for our sports teams will also create camaraderie and school spirit amongst our students by offering rewards for those who attend; things that should always be encouraged."
Most home games will earn students one point, but games against some of the Royals biggest rivals or important play-off games will earn students bonus points. The SGA and SMA even selected some close road games to rewards students for their support of the traveling teams.
Prizes are easily attained with the first being achieved with the first scan. Game Day wristbands, similar to Nike's Live Strong bands, are earned at one point, while the next set of prizes are doled out at five points, Queens keychain; 10 points, Royals back pack; 15 points, Queens stainless steel water bottle; and 20 points, a Royals beach towel. The prizes don't stop there either. Each year the two top point earners have their choice of three prizes, a Nintendo Wii, a $250 gift certificate to the Queens bookstore or an Ipod Nano.
The SMA will manage the program and its implementation, while the SGA funded the startup costs.
“SGA was happy to fund the Royals Pride Program,” said Lindsey Collins, Executive SGA Treasurer. “They (the SMA) presented their plans with enthusiasm, and we're all very excited to see them implemented. Our hope is this will help the Royals fan base grow and for all students to have a truly enjoyable time at every game.”
The Royals PRIDE Program is one modeled off a rewards system that was started at Auburn. Queens is the first Division II school to use the program OurTeam® managed by Print Source. Print Source installs the software for each school and maintains the database of points earned. Other schools using OurTeam® system include Clemson, Davidson, Memphis, South Carolina, UTEP and Conference USA schools are using the system specifically for women's basketball games.
SMA President Travis Speer (Newtown, Conn., Newtown) took some time to discuss the Royals PRIDE program:
Why do you feel this investment was important?
The investments made by SMA & SGA were definitely a needed one. Being a student-athlete myself I have realized that our school can lack school spirit and game enthusiasm. Where I come from, games were packed with students, younger kids trying to learn the game better, and families. At every football game our whole town would be there to support the student-athletes, people would paint their bodies and yell out school chants. Queens has not yet reached this level of school spirit and school pride but hopefully with the efforts of Royals Pride and the Rowdy Royals we can achieve our goals.
How do you think this new program will change Queens?
The new program that has been established by SMA & SGA will motivate students to come out and support the student-athletes, their fellow students, with some incentives in their favor. Hopefully with their support it will potentially motivate our student-athletes on the field and will lead to more consistent attendance at school sporting events. Along with the programs set in place it will inspire more school spirit and pride; also a new respect level for student athletes and all the time they invest into athletics and school.
How do you think having the Royals Pride program will change game day atmosphere?
I think it will and could potential make a drastic change because for a long time it's only been the student-athletes getting excited on game day, but with the program set in place it gives opportunities to win a lot of cool prize. I know with the upcoming spring season there will be plenty of opportunities to support the spring teams and I hope people will. Some people may not know the influence a crowd can have on a game. When teams are down and you have your whole school supporting you it can give you that little extra something to make something amazing happen. It can also intimidate the opposing team by getting into their heads and throwing them off, all while demonstrating good sportsmanship. The support of our school is very important to student-athletes and the teams at Queens.
What are the hopes and goals for the program?
I really hope that the program we have developed will inspire more students to attend sporting events and also other student-athletes to attend their fellow students-athletes events. The goals I'd like to achieve with this new program in place are for outstanding attendance at games and to develop new camaraderie between students and student-athletes, putting a face with a uniform number. We also plan to be able to run successful half time events at every sporting event because with more people wanting to be involved and make the events more entertaining and exciting, why not take a chance at half time to win a prize.
What else is SMA doing on campus?
SMA is having many competitions and contests. Right now the big one is to develop a new, up-beat logo for our Rowdy Royals Club. We are also trying to coordinate several different events with SGA & SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) to develop more community involvement and support.
Quick Links:
Royals PRIDE Program site: Click Here
OurTeam point tracking site: Click Here
