HONOLULU (KHON2) — Football fans get excited because the Rainbow Warriors are back in action Saturday against the Stanford Cardinal.
But there’s also a lot to look forward to beyond just the season, with lots of new engagements for new and long-time fans.
This includes new cooling stations available by the end zones, and more water availability amongst concession stands. This is particularly important with some of the season’s earlier game times.
The athletic department has also invested in a new, spread-out sound system to test out, and is planning on including more activities throughout the game to keep fans engaged.
But one of the biggest additions to Rainbow Warrior football will be with UH Athletics’ partnership with Engate.
Fans will have a unique opportunity to engage with the team by purchasing points from Engate and gifting them during ‘Gifting Time’ sessions to celebrate plays and reward the team.
“If you’re excited about what the team is doing, if you want to make a difference for student athletes, go out there and gift points,” said Eric ‘Captain Fun’ Matthews, UH Athletics Director of Marketing & Fan Experience. “By doing so, you rack up high points, and you unlock rewards such as promotional items, autographed swag, custom wallpapers, all these different things for it to be more interactive for the fans.”
Longtime fans will also be excited to learn that for the first full year since the move from Aloha Stadium, tailgating will be back before the games. The hope is to fill upper campus lots as much as possible.
“We’ve been listening to the fans, what they want, what their desire is. Whenever they go to the games, tailgates have been a big talking point for the last couple of years,” said Matthews. “We did it for one game last year and it did really well. So we’re trying to take the energy and apply that to all seven games this year, and to get this place full and to feel like a big-time college football atmosphere.”
Kickoff for Saturday’s game will be at 1:30 p.m. at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletic Complex. Fans are heavily encouraged to show up and wear white.
“This starts with you,” said Matthews directly to the camera when asked about messages to football fans. “You’ve got to come out here; you can make a difference. This is our team, Hawaii’s team. Be a part of it. Try something with us. Let’s make something special happen.”
Seasonal and game tickets for tailgates and games are available now.