The benefits of sports spectatorship are usually cheap pleasures - triumph, camaraderie, pride and the catharsis of revenge. Rarely are fans rewarded materially for their love of the game, though Abner's Cheesesteaks would beg to differ.
But for the Quakers faithful who can't wait for the next 100-point game, the Athletic Department has introduced Red & Blue Rewards, aimed at giving fans concrete incentives to attend Penn sports events.
Students who sign up for the program (either online or at specific matches) each receive a card that will be swiped upon attendance at football, men and women's basketball, wrestling and other non-ticketed sports events, giving them points for each showing.
Different point levels are associated with designated prizes, including a Famous Famiglia pizza, Penn T-shirt or a sophisticated Penn pint glass set.
The idea stemmed from a partnership between the Athletic Department and the Undergraduate Sports Business Club that offers students a chance to work with marketing on both a strategic and operational level.
"It was an idea that one of our members brought forward, and marketing has refined it and put in the infrastructure," USBC president and Wharton senior Mike Paolini said.
While men's basketball fans can still reap rewards at two points per game, the events that dole out the most compensation are the non-ticketed, less popular Penn sports, such as wrestling and soccer, which earn three points apiece.
"We're looking to harness that [basketball] energy and move it to other sports," marketing coordinator Brian Head said. "The students who get the best prizes are the ones who come to the events that aren't basketball and football."
Some students, though, like Wharton senior Kevin Rishe - who is high on the points leaderboard on PennAthletics.com - doubt the program's effectiveness.
"My friends who don't normally go to sports events don't know about it, and the friends who go to all of them haven't even bothered to collect any points," Rishe said. "I figure I might as well since I'm at the games anyway, but [my friends] usually forget to bring their cards."
Though Head and Paolini insist the program wasn't implemented in response to a concern regarding attendance, Rishe cited a growing problem at the Palestra.
"It's usually a struggle to pack the student section for every home game," he said.
Given the rewards scheme's relative infancy, both the Athletic Department and the USBC are stressing patience in regards to the program's success.
"It's a wait-and-see approach," said Paolini, who's in a three-way tie atop the Red & Blue leaderboard with 14 points.
"A couple more people going to each event, that's still a substantial increase in attendance."
If nothing else, the Athletic Department figures students will concede to the enticement of Penn paraphernalia and burritos on the house.
Even Rishe can't help but agree.
"As a second semester senior with little else to do, I might try to watch a few more sports," he said.
"Maybe if I'm close to that Penn laundry hamper in the spring, I might start showing up a little more."
Food, clothing and the means to wash it. As far as student rewards go, Penn Athletics certainly has its bases covered.
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