The UNM Howl Raisers plan to boost the popularity of under-attended athletic events by rewarding students for going to games.
Students who sign up with the Howl Raisers get a T-shirt and earn points for going to any event the Howl Raisers are attending, volunteer Adrian Carver said.
The points can be traded in for prizes, including restaurant coupons, Bookstore gift certificates and ski passes.
Alex Riebli and John Brewer started the program this semester. Riebli said many schools have programs like Howl Raisers, and he and Brewer saw a need for it at UNM.
He said the group is focused on rallying support for teams whose games are not well-attended.
"We're really trying to push the volleyball, soccer and baseball sports," he said.
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The Howl Raisers held their first event at the football game Sept. 6, and more than 300 students signed up to be part of the program.
Riebli said the Howl Raisers keep track of students' points by scanning barcode stickers they place on the back of Lobo IDs.
Points are apportioned based on the sport, said Wes Hardin, a Howl Raisers volunteer.
For football and basketball, students get two points for going to a game. For Olympic sports like soccer, softball and volleyball, they get four points. There are also "spirit points," which students get for painting their faces or bodies or wearing Howl Raisers T-shirts to games.
Once students collect a certain number of points, they'll be entered into a drawing to win a flat-screen TV, a trip to the Mountain West Conference Championship or passes to any bowl game the Lobos might go to, Hardin said.
Brewer said funding for the Howl Raisers comes mostly from the Athletics Department, but they have also chartered the organization on campus and will be asking for funding from the University.
Athletics has paid for everything up to this point, including technology, T-shirts and prizes, he said.
Riebli said the group has seen a positive response, though some people are wary of the project.
"We've continued to push that there's nothing attached - we want them to come to games, and were going to reward them for that," he said.
Carver said athletes have thanked him for working with the program and give it their full support.
"They really feel like they are unsupported by the student body," he said. "They know it's going to benefit them."
Tennis player Ola Abou-Zekry said the program sounds helpful, but she's not sure it will bring real support. She said people like attending popular sports they can get involved in.
"If people are just going to come and sit there, it's not useful," she said. "There's no point."
Brewer said the Howl Raisers group is a student effort, and its success will depend on student involvement.
"We really want the students to get behind it and feel like it's theirs," he said.
