By Tasha Mero

Cory Enriques, UHM Athletic Marketing Assistant

HONOLULU — In an attempt to boost student attendance, the Athletic Marketing Department implemented the Student Rewards Program.

“The initiative for the Student Rewards Program is to reward the student or students who attend the most sports events during a given month,” said Cory Enriques, UHM Marketing Assistant.

The Marketing Department hopes that this program will attract more students to come out to more games.

“We really wanna bring the student section to life and get the fans involved as much as possible,” Enriques said.

Free Prizes

With opportunities for prizes, as well as free admission to home games, the Athletic Department hopes for a packed student section.

According to Enriques, March marks the fifth month that the program has been around. Enriques thinks the program is a positive initiative for students since it gives them a chance to win a prize.

iPad prize

“We contacted all of our corporate partners and worked with them, and they ended up donating us a lot of really great prizes,” Enriques said. “The first prize that we awarded in November was an iPad donated by Pepsi.”

iPad Winner

Graduate student Temidayo Alamurin, the iPad winner, has shown that he’s a dedicated fan by attending well over 50 games. In addition to a new iPad, Alamurin also won numerous items.

Temidayo Alamurin, prize winner

“I won a gas card, gift card, and bag, towel, yeah lots of prizes in the bag I was given,” Alamurin said.

Alamurin, who is a big sports fan, attends games to show his support to the athletes. He feels that the Student Rewards Program was a great idea.

“It encourages people to want to attend all the games,” Alamurin said.

Boost in Attendance

Enriques feels that this program has been quite successful.

Student ID’s are scanned to track attendance

“Month to month we track student attendance and how many students come to the game,” Enriques said. “Student attendance has improved in every sport except for football this year, and as you can see from the results of the Student Rewards Program, that every month keeps getting a little more competitive.”

Enriques hopes that this program will encourage students to come out and show their school spirit.