By Alexa Low

As a school that has a high student-athlete population, Quincy University feels it is important for good attendance at all sporting events. It is also important for the athletes to be cheered on by fellow students.

“It creates school pride and a good atmosphere for community. It gives an electric environment for the home team to have confidence and gain energy,” Jeni Garber, women’s basketball coach said.

Many of QU’s  teams have taken initiative by offering certain incentives for students who attend the game.

Football

The football team brings in the largest crowd on campus but still finds ways to attract even more people.

Tailgating is a big part of the football experience as fans gather to eat and drink before the game.

In the past, the team has sponsored a corn hole tournament and other activities during tailgate. 

During the game, fans have the opportunity to be randomly selected to be a part of either the quarter break or halftime show.

After the first quarter, a student is selected to punt a 10 yard field goal for the chance to win a Domino’s Pizza coupon. If they miss, the student still receives a QU shirt for participating.

At halftime two students are selected from the stands to participate in a race down the football field. Each student holds a sponsor flag and the student that wins the race gets a Smoothie King gift card.

For those students who do not wish to participate in front of a crowd, they might have the opportunity to catch a QU shirt thrown into the stands by the cheerleaders.

“As a football player, I think it shows school spirit. The atmosphere sucks without fans. I like when people come watch us play because it’s a good time when students come support other teams,” Blake Huskey said.

Volleyball

The women’s volleyball team also has a halftime show to get the crowd involved in the game.

Two contestants are pulled from the crowd to serve volleyballs over the net and onto the other side where four hula hoops and two shirts are placed on the ground. Inside the hula hoops are Smoothie King gift cards. If the contestant hits the volleyball and it lands in either a hula hoop or on a shirt within the one minute time frame then they win the prize.

It is a great way to get the crowd involved because students are eager to be chosen.

“I think it’s a good opportunity for students to get either gear or gift cards. We’re broke college students and we like free stuff,” Jess Merino, participant, said.

Other non season sports have traditionally done halftime shows as well such as Men’s and Women’s Basketball.

The same premise exists where a contestant is randomly picked however this time the prize is $200.

All they have to do is make a layup, free throw, three point shot and a half court shot all within a minute.