By Patrick McHugh
A new program that encourages and rewards student attendance at athletic events has been introduced to the student body.
The program, Ncentives, was put together by the Athletics Department with assistance from the Student Government Association and Student Affairs to increase attendance for university sporting events. Students receive points for swiping their Husky cards at sporting events, and get prizes for the points they earn. Some prizes include official “Now Is The Time” t-shirts and entries into raffles for Beanpot tickets, athletic apparel, gift cards to the Northeastern Book Store, dinner with coaches and players and more, according to Chris Marshall, marketing and promotions director for the Athletics Department.
The idea for “Ncentives” was conceived in the past and near completion last year until data issues postponed the unveiling until this year, Marshall said.
Ed Klotzbier, vice president of student affairs, said the incentive program is designed to help build a sense of community at Northeastern and get students more involved in sporting events. He said the program makes the sports activities part of student life.
“We’re trying to increase student participation at athletic events, trying to build school spirit,” Klotzbier said. “This is a great opportunity for Student Affairs to work with Athletics in encouraging students to come support the student athletes.”
Students will receive points for attending ticketed events at Matthews Arena or Solomon Court. Men’s hockey games are worth one point while women’s hockey and men’s and women’s basketball games are worth two points. Certain events will be worth, three points such as televised games and “Pack the House Games.” Other potential events where points can be earned include road trips sponsored by the Athletics Department and the Women’s Beanpot.
Doghouse co-leader Tim Fouche said he thought the program could potentially help boost attendance in lesser publicized sports, but likely wouldn’t affect the big-time programs at NU.
“I think it will be a good incentive, but I don’t think it will change a lot [with hockey basketball],” he said. “It will just reward the kids that always go. I think it might help with the other sports like volleyball and soccer, but I’m afraid kids might just swipe and leave.”
In order to receive points, students must be in attendance by the end of the first half for basketball games and by the end of the first period for hockey games. Each week GoNU.com will post the top 25 point earners, and each month the top three will win prizes.
Marshall worked with John Gruppo, head of business operations in the Athletics Department, to help establish the program and get it off the ground.
“I started working on the format this summer and I brought it up with Student Affairs and they loved it,” Marshall said. “I think it will work because it is a great way for Athletics to work with other groups on campus to generate student involvement and excitement.”
Marshall also said that, in the future, the program can be used for competition between residence halls to see which building can earn the most points. Other potential ideas include competition between student groups and Greek Life organizations.
If the program is successful, it may be used to encourage attendance at other non-athletic events on campus, Klotzbier said. In working with Athletics, he said Student Affairs is exploring the program as a way to utilize it for other events.
“Student Affairs and Athletics collided on this in a good way which fits our objective, so why not use Athletics as the tool to support our objective,” Klotzbier said. “If this works, this is going to be a real home run. We hope this is the first step to bigger and better things so that Ncentives can be a bridge for promoting other events at Northeastern.”
The first day of Ncentives’ events will be during Homecoming weekend when women’s and men’s hockey take the ice. For more information check GoNU.com/ncentives.
