B
Bama News
The technological component of Alabama’s effort to keep students in the stands at Bryant-Denny Stadium from the opening kickoff to the final whistle has been unveiled.
The university, through an app designed by FanMaker that will be available to download Thursday, will use geo-fencing — a location-based service that activates in a defined perimeter — to monitor the whereabouts of those who participate in the Tide Loyalty Points program, which was an initiative unveiled this spring to encourage undergraduates and those seeking advanced degrees to stay for the duration of the Crimson Tide’s home football games.
The app, which is also called, “Tide Loyalty Points,” was created by a company that, according to its website, has teamed up with six other Power Five schools, including USC, Clemson and Mississippi State.
“We worked with our student leadership and campus leadership and recognized that we need to incentivize our students to stay for the whole game,” Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne told AL.com last week. “We don’t want to penalize; we want to incentivize. We know things like SEC Championship tickets, when we are fortunate enough to play in that, CFP tickets, when we are fortunate enough to play in there, those are good incentives to say, ‘Hey, if you stay the whole game you’re going to have a better chance of getting those seats.’ Not guaranteed, but a better chance.”
The Tide Loyalty Points program, which was first announced in April, was unveiled six months after Alabama coach Nick Saban complained about the student attendance at a 56-14 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette last September.
Saban noticed vast swaths of empty seats in sections reserved for those enrolled in the university.
"I don't think they're entitled to anything either," Saban said then. "Me personally, I think it ought to be first come, first served. And if they don't want to come to the game, they don't have to come but I'm sure there's enough people out here who would like to come to the games and we'd like for them to come too, because they support the players. So, I've never said anything about that before.”
In reality, Saban complained about the very same issue in 2013. And the school implemented measures to galvanize support. For instance, it created a penalty system where points were docked from a student’s Action card if he or she chose not to use a ticket, which could have hindered the ability to purchase postseason tickets.
But according to an April 1 email that introduced the newly-created “Tide Loyalty Points” program, students who don’t make an early exit will earn credit “for their support in the 4th quarter. Those points will contribute to students’ priority access to regular and postseason tickets.” Per a university news release issued Wednesday, points will be also awarded for credit hours accumulated and “priority access to regular season and postseason tickets will be determined by total points earned over the course of each student’s enrollment.”
The initiative is part of a larger campaign by Byrne to proactively address the growing concern of declining attendance in college sports, and in particular, football. He spearheaded a 10-year, $600 million to upgrade facilities, including Bryant-Denny. He is also pushing for better scheduling that features more Power Five non-conference games.
“I do think the recognition that things are evolving is real,” Byrne said, “and we want to be part of that solution.”
The university, through an app designed by FanMaker that will be available to download Thursday, will use geo-fencing — a location-based service that activates in a defined perimeter — to monitor the whereabouts of those who participate in the Tide Loyalty Points program, which was an initiative unveiled this spring to encourage undergraduates and those seeking advanced degrees to stay for the duration of the Crimson Tide’s home football games.
The app, which is also called, “Tide Loyalty Points,” was created by a company that, according to its website, has teamed up with six other Power Five schools, including USC, Clemson and Mississippi State.
“We worked with our student leadership and campus leadership and recognized that we need to incentivize our students to stay for the whole game,” Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne told AL.com last week. “We don’t want to penalize; we want to incentivize. We know things like SEC Championship tickets, when we are fortunate enough to play in that, CFP tickets, when we are fortunate enough to play in there, those are good incentives to say, ‘Hey, if you stay the whole game you’re going to have a better chance of getting those seats.’ Not guaranteed, but a better chance.”
The Tide Loyalty Points program, which was first announced in April, was unveiled six months after Alabama coach Nick Saban complained about the student attendance at a 56-14 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette last September.
Saban noticed vast swaths of empty seats in sections reserved for those enrolled in the university.
"I don't think they're entitled to anything either," Saban said then. "Me personally, I think it ought to be first come, first served. And if they don't want to come to the game, they don't have to come but I'm sure there's enough people out here who would like to come to the games and we'd like for them to come too, because they support the players. So, I've never said anything about that before.”
In reality, Saban complained about the very same issue in 2013. And the school implemented measures to galvanize support. For instance, it created a penalty system where points were docked from a student’s Action card if he or she chose not to use a ticket, which could have hindered the ability to purchase postseason tickets.
But according to an April 1 email that introduced the newly-created “Tide Loyalty Points” program, students who don’t make an early exit will earn credit “for their support in the 4th quarter. Those points will contribute to students’ priority access to regular and postseason tickets.” Per a university news release issued Wednesday, points will be also awarded for credit hours accumulated and “priority access to regular season and postseason tickets will be determined by total points earned over the course of each student’s enrollment.”
The initiative is part of a larger campaign by Byrne to proactively address the growing concern of declining attendance in college sports, and in particular, football. He spearheaded a 10-year, $600 million to upgrade facilities, including Bryant-Denny. He is also pushing for better scheduling that features more Power Five non-conference games.
“I do think the recognition that things are evolving is real,” Byrne said, “and we want to be part of that solution.”
