Rice University is pulling out all the stops to entice its fans to attend this weekend's highly anticipated game against North Texas, with a twist: free beer for those 21 and above. The promotion, aimed at boosting attendance numbers, especially among students who may be planning to head home over Thanksgiving weekend.
The offer includes free T-shirts to the first 500 students in attendance, as well as ice cream and beer - albeit limited to 12-ounce cans behind a kiosk in the student section to avoid any rowdy behavior. The idea is to encourage students to stay on campus for the game, which holds significant importance for bowl eligibility.
According to Kevin Dwan, Rice deputy athletic director for external affairs and revenue, "we're playing on national TV, we're playing for bowl eligibility, we're playing a top-25 team in North Texas, and it's the weekend before Thanksgiving, so a lot of our students are off campus already and heading home."
To ensure that things don't get out of hand, Rice University Police will be present throughout the event. There is no set time limit for getting beer, but servers and campus police will monitor to prevent anyone visibly intoxicated from being over-served.
The promotion suggests that Rice is determined to make this game a memorable experience for its fans, especially those who may otherwise be planning to leave town before it starts.
The offer includes free T-shirts to the first 500 students in attendance, as well as ice cream and beer - albeit limited to 12-ounce cans behind a kiosk in the student section to avoid any rowdy behavior. The idea is to encourage students to stay on campus for the game, which holds significant importance for bowl eligibility.
According to Kevin Dwan, Rice deputy athletic director for external affairs and revenue, "we're playing on national TV, we're playing for bowl eligibility, we're playing a top-25 team in North Texas, and it's the weekend before Thanksgiving, so a lot of our students are off campus already and heading home."
To ensure that things don't get out of hand, Rice University Police will be present throughout the event. There is no set time limit for getting beer, but servers and campus police will monitor to prevent anyone visibly intoxicated from being over-served.
The promotion suggests that Rice is determined to make this game a memorable experience for its fans, especially those who may otherwise be planning to leave town before it starts.
. I hope the campus police are doing their job and keeping an eye on things. Still, it's a pretty clever idea, and if it helps bring more fans out to support the team, then I'm all for it!
You know what's crazy? These young folks are already looking forward to leaving campus after just one more game 
. But I think it's awesome that Rice is giving them a reason to stay, you feel? It's like they're saying, "Hey, we know you wanna go home for Turkey Day, but stick around and let's make this a night to remember!" And who wouldn't want free beer and merch 
). It's about creating an experience that makes you wanna stay on campus, learn from your peers, and take in all that Rice has to offer. Maybe we can all learn a lesson from this? How do we make our own experiences more memorable and worth sticking around for?