Starting this year, Stanford ID (SUID) cards no longer grant students free entry into sporting events. In August, Stanford Athletics introduced the Red Zone Student Pass, a virtual ticket students can use to scan into all NCAA-sanctioned home games during the regular college athletic season.
In the past, the unique barcodes on SUID cards allowed students to scan into athletic events on campus — but beginning this year, newly issued cards no longer have a barcode. Though returning students’ SUIDs still have barcodes, Stanford Athletics chose to switch to the Red Zone Student Pass to standardize the process for students scanning into games.
“Our approach was a proactive shift, based on the Stanford ID Card Office’s transition [away] from barcodes on its SUIDs,” Stanford Athletics marketing coordinator Jack Anderson wrote in an email to The Daily. “To limit confusion between varying avenues to scan into games, we decided to make the change for all Stanford students.”
In addition to offering a streamlined experience for student fans, the Red Zone Student Pass comes with a new incentive to attend Stanford sporting events: loyalty points.
“The goal of the point system is to reward Stanford’s most passionate students,” Anderson wrote. “We have some very spirited students on campus who do a great job at supporting our student-athletes and [we] want them to be recognized and rewarded for their efforts.”
Attendance at most events is worth one point, but football games are a notable exception, earning students a minimum of two points per game they attend. As students earn points, they can exchange them for prizes, with details expected to be released in the coming weeks.
The point system has four levels: zero to nine points, 10 to 24 points, 25 to 39 points or more than 40 points. As students progress through the tiers, the loyalty points they earn will correspond to increasingly exciting rewards.
“In the future, we hope to use additional points as an incentive to encourage students to attend high-profile events, such as rivalry games and games against ranked opponents,” Anderson wrote.
Students can access their Red Zone Student Pass and download it to a digital wallet by following a link sent out via email in mid-August or through an online portal. For those looking to attend games with guests who are not Stanford students, guest tickets, partner passes and Cardinal Kids Club memberships are available for purchase via the Stanford Athletics ticketing website.