Hawaii football averaged just 858 students per game at Aloha Stadium last yeargetty images
Univ. of Hawaii athletics is preparing to launch the H Rewards app, which AD David Matlin calls a "new and exciting way for us to effectively communicate with our student body," according to Ferd Lewis of the HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER. The app is "expected to be rolled out in September" and is one of UH's initiatives to incentivize attendance and improve on a "notable paucity of students in particular and millennials in general" at sporting events. Student attendance for football games at Aloha Stadium "averaged 858 per game" in '17, just 5% of fans on hand. Men's basketball "averaged even fewer at 146 students per game." UH's history of student turnout "has been light, never averaging more than 1,120" in '10-11 for football or above 354 in '12-13 for men's basketball. Matlin said, "Our primary focus is to reach out to the first-year students and provide incentives for them to download the app and get acquainted with it." Lewis noted the app will be "funded by approximately $120,000 from the proceeds of the student athletic fee." Matlin: "We are also working with the campus to pursue e-sports opportunities. This initiative is in its infancy, but we feel it can attract new students to campus and to our athletic events" (HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER, 7/4).
