Everyone knows Dartmouth students will attend events with free food, but what about free money?
One lucky Dartmouth student may win a $20,000 prize in a half-court shot contest at the end of this basketball season, and a spectator at each men's hockey game will have a chance to shoot for $10,000.
In addition to monetary prizes, Assistant Director of Athletics for Marketing and Promotions Brandon Macneill has added a host of new promotions to this year's sports events.
For men's and women's basketball games this season, the Leede Arena balcony will be converted into a students-only "luxury box." Campus organizations and student groups can send a BlitzMail message to Macneill to request the box for any home game. Groups are then chosen by lottery for each game.
In addition to receiving desirable seating, students in the luxury box will receive free food from Dartmouth Dining Services and free T-shirts from Vox Sportswear. Finally, one member of the group will be given a chance to participate in a half-time shoot-out contest that will eventually lead to the $20,000 contest.
The $20,000 contest will allow three students at every basketball game to make as many three-point baskets as possible. The winner will then move on to the final round at the end of the season, where 13 finalists will be whittled down to just one.
The finalist will then have the chance to make a shot from the half-court line for $20,000. Contestants are limited to Dartmouth students who have not played high school, college or professional basketball in the past five years. The contest is still looking for a sponsor.
During this year's hockey season, Murphy's on the Green will be sponsoring a chance to win $10,000 at every game. A spectator will be chosen to attempt a slapshot from the second blue line into a partially covered goal. The Hampton Inn will also be sponsoring a shoot-out for a five-night stay in South Beach, Fla., and Molly's Balloon will sponsor a tricycle race at some games to win free dinners.
Macneill said his goal is to get more students to become involved in College sporting events.
"We're trying to reach out to groups who have never come to a game before," he said. "The hope is that they'll come back for more."
Macneill is still working on starting even more promotions. He said he wants to host a "Spring Break Night" at one of this year's hockey games, during which students will be able to win airplane tickets for spring break. Students will also be able to watch the game from portable, simmering hot tubs.
"Everyone will get 'leied' when they walk in the door," he said.
Macneill said he is also interested in making a "more affordable pricing policy" for next year's games. Currently, all basketball games charge $3 admission. Men's hockey games cost $4, and women's hockey games are free.
A shuttle bus sponsored by White River Toyota will run between the Collis Center and Leverone Loop every 10 minutes for 30 minutes before and after the beginning of men's hockey games and for one hour after the games end. Macneill said the idea arose after asking students what would make them more likely to go to hockey games in the winter.
"A lot of people said it was too far to walk in the middle of winter in a snowstorm," he said.
Two buses will also run between the Dartmouth Medical School and Leverone Loop before and after all basketball games and men's hockey games.
