The Geneseo “Blue Crew” makes sure to attend every hockey game at the Ira S. Wilson arena, generating energy so that they can get the student section hyped up. This level of attendance is desirable for other Geneseo athletic events, and the launching of application Knight Time is anticipated to encourage students to attend more games. (Jake Wade/Staff Photographer)
Geneseo students will be able to download Knight Time—a smartphone app that students can use to earn points from attending events on campus—starting on Feb. 17. Many of these opportunities will be for varsity athletic games or Geneseo Late Knight events.
Knight Time can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play. The application uses the phone’s GPS coordinates to determine what event the student is attending to obtain points. Any student who is physically sitting in the Ira S. Wilson arena, the college stadium or a GLK event will be eligible to sign on to the application to earn points.
Associate Athletic Director Liam Welsh has had a significant role in bringing this idea to Geneseo. It is an idea that Welsh expects to be rather successful in the Geneseo community.
“Students can go to those events, check in, receive a point that is allocated to their profile, and they accumulate points,” Welsh said. “The more points, the better the prize.”
Once a student earns a certain number of points, they will receive a prize. The amount of points will increase with every event that is attended. Being that this is a new system for Geneseo, there are only four levels so far. Each level of the program has a special prize that the students can earn.
After the student reaches a certain level, they can go to the college bookstore in the MacVittie College Union to redeem a prize. The prizes are not limited to a certain amount of students. After reaching the first level, students will continue to add on to the amount of points that they already have, allowing them to strive to reach higher levels.
Super Fan U creates this point system application, and it is becoming more popular nationally as high schools, colleges and other institutions are beginning to incorporate it into their events. This system creates an incentive for more students to attend campus events.
The application has more features to it, however, than simply collecting points. It creates a way for students to connect and to communicate at campus events.
One feature within the application—known as the “fan cam”—will allow for students to post pictures at certain events to show their peers where they are and how the events look. Students will also be able to connect to their social media network of choice, where they can share the event online, which will also add to the total number of points earned.
While this application may be providing entertainment and prizes for the students, it will also be helping the school collect data on student life.
“When you download the app, you will be asked several questions about yourself,” Welsh said. “We are able to then pull analytics that can drive more marketing strategies.”
By using this data, Geneseo can initiate a stronger connection with its student life.
Once the application is launched, students will be able to earn points until the end of the semester. When the spring 2017 semester comes to an end, every user’s points will be erased, so that they can start up the following semester with zero points.
Further information regarding Knight Time will be available on the Geneseo athletics website.