“Go to games, get rewarded”
Get points for going to games, it’s as simple as that. Hurd Rewards are at Utah State.
USUSA’s Campus Rec and Athletics Vice President Thomas Rogers implemented Hurd Rewards at USU and has been helping students rack up points since the first football game of the year.
“Go to games, get rewarded,” that’s the motto.
“I know that a trend is athletic attendance is going down all over the nation, including the Spectrum,” Rogers said. “I know this isn’t going to be the fix or the cure to get students back, but I think this is just one initial step.”
All you have to do to earn points and win prizes is go to a game and swipe your ID card and your points automatically get tracked.
Winning free stuff is never a bad thing for college students. The reward prizes include USU sunglasses, a Nike gym bag, or a customized Nike shirt saying “I Believe That We Will Win.” The Hurd is also giving away replica football helmets at the second to last basketball home game for a few people with the most points.
Whoever has the most points out of any Utah State student will win a free trip to the Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas over Spring Break.
Hurd president Kylie Elwood thinks that Hurd Rewards are a good idea and it has the potential to change USU athletics.
“I think for every game a student goes to, they should get points,” Elwood said. “I hope in the future we’re able to figure something out that we can do more games and extend the point system to other things like watch parties.”
Rogers said that he plans on including club sports in the future. What they’re aiming for is trying to make it a universal program.
Jakob Ambuehl, a Hurd member who runs the subcommittee of Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter, and also co-founder of “Find It Friday,” thinks that this is a great way to get students to games.
“There are cool things to see,” Ambuehl said. “People dressing up, we have emojis and everything, the halftime show, and just meeting people.”
The Hurd members all agree, Utah State needs a full Spectrum, a packed Maverick Stadium, and students to help bring the magic back.
“My big dream and my passion is that if someone gets involved with Utah State athletics and the Aggie experience and going to games, that they might meet some of their closest friends or maybe even a spouse,” Rogers said. “If you love the sport or not, come help us make the experience better.”
Women’s events are worth 20 points and men’s basketball and football are worth 10. Big Blue games such as blackout and big home games are worth 25 points, and special Hurd events are worth 45.
It takes 100 points to win sunglasses, 150 points to pick up a Nike gym bag and 200 points for the custom Nike shirt.
Hurd Rewards is a continual program, the more games you go to the more points you get. Go pick up some sunglasses and then 50 points later, go pick up a gym bag. Points add up even after you redeem them.
“We’ve got all the stuff in the office and we don’t want to keep it,” Rogers said. “We want our students to go use it, to go to games, and to wear it around with pride.”
For more information on the Hurd rewards, visit hurdrewards.usu.edu.
—kenna.cook@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @kennaacook