The Wild Bunch app is your ticket into any University of Wyoming athletics event this season. While we live in the era of apps making life easier, there have been a few hiccups in using the Wild Bunch.
Full time students at UW are allowed in to athletic events for free, a luxury that many students at campuses nation wide do not get to experience. To help get students to join their student-based fan club the university has been using the Wild Bunch app exclusively to allow students in to the game. Students get in to the game if the app loads properly or doesn’t crash prior to sporting events.
This past Saturday a troubleshooting booth was set up at the football game against Boise. A number of students were told to get in line after their app crashed or code would not scan at entrances to the stadium. The line was fairly long but students were still able to get into the stadium after getting help to fix their apps.
The university is taking precautions to try to prevent and alleviate some of these issues. Representatives of from the athletic department have been helping student trouble shoot the app in the union breezeway during weekdays. Prior to athletic events UW also advises that student load the app before the game starts to help avoid the app from being overloaded and crashing minutes before they get to the front of the line.
Students have found that screen shots of the QR code are just as good as having the actual app open. With the code being unique to each student based on their W number it helps prevent multiple entrances when the app is working properly.
However, screen shots can be sent over text message. If a student is not attending the event they can simply send the screen shot to a non-student who can then get in to the game for free. It is uncertain how wide spread the texting an image of the screenshot is, but it could lead to UW athletics losing out on some ticket sales.
In the past students have worried about losing their ID when bringing it to get into athletic events. This is a plus for upper classmen because once you leave the dorms student IDs are needed less frequently in daily activities. The Wild Bunch app provides a convenient option to students when it’s functioning. What modern-day college student doesn’t have their cellphone on them constantly?
With everything being centralized on the app the athletic department can send out massive messages to students, something they have already utilized. Also for those students who join the Wild Bunch fan group, the app can easily keep track of their points that can be used to earn prizes. The app has pros and cons but will hopefully continue to improve so more students can easily get into athletic events.
