How Boise State is improving the fan experience one app at a time

Elise Ledesma | The Arbiter

After launching in August 2021, the Bronco Sports App is heading into this sports season looking to improve accessibility for Boise State fans.

The Bronco Sports App allows users easy access to their mobile tickets, Bronco Shop merchandise and game day information. Also available in the app are videos, schedules, stats, team information, fan guides and interactive opportunities according to the Bronco Sports website.

Cameron Howard, director of community and fan engagement, and Josh Bender, interim assistant athletic director for marketing and promotions, wanted to make this app as beneficial as possible for Boise State fans, students and donors.

“We had one (app) in the past, and it didn’t really get the traction that we were hoping, but bringing it back, the huge focus was to make people aware of the events that are going on,” Howard said. 

[A student uses the Bronco Sports App.]
Elise Ledesma | The Arbiter

The Bronco app reached 20,000 users last year and saw a significant spike once events were back on campus, according to Howard.

“We wanted to keep pushing that envelope, keep getting more (users), adding more,” Howard said. “Once we got events back on campus, we are now up to 34,000 (users), so we’ve been up 14,000 in about a month.”

One of the changes that were made to the app this year was the addition of the light show feature, which has been used during football games at night. 

During a segment of the game, fans will be asked to join the light show. Once enabled, the user’s mobile phone flashlight will strobe in sync with the selected music while their screen flashes the Boise State colors and logo.

Another improvement was giving fans the ability to order concessions through the app. 

“Instead of going and standing in line, you just pull out your app and order and then it’ll give you a timer and tell you exactly when your food is ready to be picked up and where,” Bender said. “This way people are cutting down on the time that people are missing the game.”

The Athletics app also rewards fans by giving them points for every sporting event they attend. These points can be used to receive a prize later on in the year.

“We want to say thank you to them (fans), we really appreciate their support,” Bender said. “They bring the energy, they’re kind of that thermostat for us, so making sure that we have a way to reward that was a big key.”

Some rewards included Bronco Shop fan attire, a refrigerator and Dutch Bros gift cards. The rewards always change and are inspired by suggestions made by students.

Howard and Bender have seen significant growth in their second year of operating this app and will continue to build upon it to facilitate a useful product for Boise State fans.

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