Fresno State Athletics
Bringing Bulldog GameDay to the Fans
10/20/2020 3:00:00 PM | General
Dog Patrol, “Doghouse” Virtual Game-Day & Trivia to debut this weekend
The Red Wave is even bigger and bolder than the historic crowds that traditionally fill Bulldog Stadium. The spirit of the Green V runs north and south, east and west throughout the Central Valley. With that energy temporarily on the sidelines for this weekend's kickoff versus Hawai'i, Fresno State is rolling out a promotion plan to safely bring Game-Day to the fans – in their homes and neighborhoods.
With the launch of the Fresno State Bulldog app yesterday, the department introduced a new way to keep fans informed 365 days of the year. Today's announcement highlights an additional two new features to keep Bulldog fans connected while home-gating this season. The first new addition is a roadshow-style Dog Patrol, with a fully decked out van (thanks to Sun-Maid Raisins) hitting the streets to visit Fresno State fan communities throughout the Valley. The first stop will be this Friday evening, visiting Fig Garden neighborhoods. While following all recommended public health and safety protocols, look for the decked-out van (pictures below) and Timeout to bring fun giveaways, t-shirts, bobbleheads, and more. The Patrol is planning five total neighborhood visits for the football season, and more to come during the winter and spring athletic seasons.
"There is nothing better than interacting with our fans," said Jacob Mastro, associate director of promotions for the Fresno State athletics department. "Our Dog Patrol will be bringing the Bulldog Spirit and energy throughout our community. We can't wait to drive that new Bulldog van through our city and see the support from the Red Wave.
"We want to thank our partners at Sun-Maid Raisins for their continued vision of supporting our Bulldogs engagement in the Valley."
The second addition is the Doghouse Virtual GameDay delivery, a feature in the app that will be powered by a partnership with Sparx Technology. This second-screen fan engagement will deliver much of the in-stadium promotions that make Bulldog games so memorable, but to the fanbase via their mobile devices or home computers. Trivia, in-app game-play, fan contests, and traditional stadium elements such as the CarrollCo Hot Dog Race will all be accessible through this platform. Fresno State becomes the first NCAA program to utilize this fan-facing experience, after teams in the NFL, NHL, NBA and Major League Baseball used it to keep fans connected this past summer, as well as the Oscars and other top entertainment brands.
"We know how special gameday is to the Red Wave. We needed to find a way to bring the in-stadium experience into their homes, and Sparx is it," said Mastro. "Sparx provides unlimited opportunities for our fans to stay engaged, informed, and have some fun on gameday. We are proud to be the first NCAA athletic department to partner with Sparx to give the Red Wave an amazing gameday experience".
"Sparx is honored and proud to work with such a forward thinking and innovative team to bring Fresno State football fans a unique and highly engaging interactive experience," says Kevin Annison, Head of Global Sales for Sparx Technology. "Most important, the fan experience is curated and produced by the Bulldogs team, thus incorporating the knowledge, passion, authentic voice and tone of the team and its fans."
For those who have downloaded the new app, Doghouse Virtual GameDay will be available through the app menu. For those who want to access the experience via laptop or other household computer, a link to the each game-day experience will be available on gobulldogs.com prior to kick-off. The Doghouse team will be running a fun game-week trivia contest this Thursday, October 22, starting at noon, where fans can try out some of the trivia and learn the platform. To download the app, please click here for Apple and here for Android. A $50 gift card to Lazy Dog in Fresno will be up for grabs to the top points-earner during the Thursday mini-contest.
With the launch of the Fresno State Bulldog app yesterday, the department introduced a new way to keep fans informed 365 days of the year. Today's announcement highlights an additional two new features to keep Bulldog fans connected while home-gating this season. The first new addition is a roadshow-style Dog Patrol, with a fully decked out van (thanks to Sun-Maid Raisins) hitting the streets to visit Fresno State fan communities throughout the Valley. The first stop will be this Friday evening, visiting Fig Garden neighborhoods. While following all recommended public health and safety protocols, look for the decked-out van (pictures below) and Timeout to bring fun giveaways, t-shirts, bobbleheads, and more. The Patrol is planning five total neighborhood visits for the football season, and more to come during the winter and spring athletic seasons.
"There is nothing better than interacting with our fans," said Jacob Mastro, associate director of promotions for the Fresno State athletics department. "Our Dog Patrol will be bringing the Bulldog Spirit and energy throughout our community. We can't wait to drive that new Bulldog van through our city and see the support from the Red Wave.
"We want to thank our partners at Sun-Maid Raisins for their continued vision of supporting our Bulldogs engagement in the Valley."
The second addition is the Doghouse Virtual GameDay delivery, a feature in the app that will be powered by a partnership with Sparx Technology. This second-screen fan engagement will deliver much of the in-stadium promotions that make Bulldog games so memorable, but to the fanbase via their mobile devices or home computers. Trivia, in-app game-play, fan contests, and traditional stadium elements such as the CarrollCo Hot Dog Race will all be accessible through this platform. Fresno State becomes the first NCAA program to utilize this fan-facing experience, after teams in the NFL, NHL, NBA and Major League Baseball used it to keep fans connected this past summer, as well as the Oscars and other top entertainment brands.
"We know how special gameday is to the Red Wave. We needed to find a way to bring the in-stadium experience into their homes, and Sparx is it," said Mastro. "Sparx provides unlimited opportunities for our fans to stay engaged, informed, and have some fun on gameday. We are proud to be the first NCAA athletic department to partner with Sparx to give the Red Wave an amazing gameday experience".
"Sparx is honored and proud to work with such a forward thinking and innovative team to bring Fresno State football fans a unique and highly engaging interactive experience," says Kevin Annison, Head of Global Sales for Sparx Technology. "Most important, the fan experience is curated and produced by the Bulldogs team, thus incorporating the knowledge, passion, authentic voice and tone of the team and its fans."
For those who have downloaded the new app, Doghouse Virtual GameDay will be available through the app menu. For those who want to access the experience via laptop or other household computer, a link to the each game-day experience will be available on gobulldogs.com prior to kick-off. The Doghouse team will be running a fun game-week trivia contest this Thursday, October 22, starting at noon, where fans can try out some of the trivia and learn the platform. To download the app, please click here for Apple and here for Android. A $50 gift card to Lazy Dog in Fresno will be up for grabs to the top points-earner during the Thursday mini-contest.
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