Last week Oregon State University announced the launch of SQUAD, an on-demand membership model that makes tickets to OSU sporting events available to recent graduates via subscription.
For $19.99 a month, or $239 per year, subscribers get access to an unlimited number of games and matches, including football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, volleyball and gymnastics, as well as the first opportunity to upgrade to better seats.
Source: Screenshot from App
At launch, up to 300 memberships will be sold to alumni from the classes of 2006 through 2016. The membership includes access to “high-demand events” including Civil War games and other popular Oregon State events.
“It’s a first of its kind program in college athletics,” OSU Deputy Athletic Director Zack Lassiter said. “The season ticket model has existed for a long time in sports and it continues to serve the majority of our fans very well. However, as our fans and technology continue to evolve, we need to explore ways to evolve as well.”
“Attend the games you want, when you want,” Lassiter added. “There is no limit to the number of events you can access with your membership.
Oregon State says that SQUAD is “a new way to think about tickets,” catering to alumni who’ve graduated within the last 10 years, and encouraging them to attend Oregon State athletic events at a cost significantly lower than purchasing individual tickets.
In an article about SQUAD by Sport Techie, Lassiter said, “We’re not trying to maximize revenue…we’re trying to create a price that resonates with our young alums.”
Tickets to the events are accessible via mobile app for iPhones and Android devices, so paperless tickets can be managed easily online. Another benefit of SQUAD is that it allows users to choose to attend games at the last minute and to sit with other SQUAD members.
Insider Take:
BRILLIANT. We LOVE this idea! This is a great way to utilize the subscription model to provide an existing product to subscribers – or members – in a new way. The concept itself is simple which is part of its beauty. It also shows that Oregon State knows who its target audience is and how to get in front of it.
They are following subscription industry best practices by testing a small segment and limiting the scope of the initial trial to 300 members. This will give them the opportunity to test the idea in time for the 2016-17 Oregon State Beaver football season, including the Civil War, a football rivalry between Oregon State and the University of Oregon, scheduled for November 26, 2016.
This is a great way for the university’s athletic department to test an exciting new idea while bringing recent alumni back into the fold. We love everything about SQUAD, and we hope it is wildly successful so that other universities can try it as well.
