Athletics Department gives out 15-minute reservations on Quad hammocks to increase attendance at games

The new initiative has propelled the largest increase in sports game attendance in UC Davis history

The UC Davis Athletics Director Rocko DeLuca announced an exciting new initiative to increase attendance at games.

“As the weather gets warmer, the one place that all Aggies want to be is the Quad hammocks,” DeLuca said in an April 1 press release. “However, I know it is often hard to secure a spot on the coveted hammocks. That is why the Athletics Department is introducing an exciting new program where students who attend games can get the chance to win a 15-minute reservation on one of the beautiful hammocks that the Quad has to offer.”

Before the introduction of the program, students on the Memorial Union Quad were seen shoving and trampling each other on sunny days to get a turn on a hammock. Some students had even adopted the “vulture strategy,” which consists of sitting as close as possible to an occupied hammock in hopes of pressuring the user to move.

Competition for the hammocks has become so fierce that it erodes students’ sense of unity on campus. Administrators set out to find a solution to the problem and ultimately decided to reach out to the Athletics Department for help.

“I saw the perfect opportunity for a symbiotic relationship,” DeLuca said. “Despite our best efforts to get students to come to games, nothing seems to work. I thought the free Gary May shirts would be a big hit … they weren’t. We realized that we needed to make an offer that students couldn’t resist.”

Since the program launched two weeks ago, it has seen huge success. Baseball had its first sold-out game since 2012, and students were turned away at the door during the last gymnastics meet.

“It’s my last quarter here at Davis, and I haven’t gotten to sit on the hammocks yet,” Chris P. Bacon, a fourth-year computer science major, said. “So, when I heard the announcement, I immediately went to the upcoming softball game. It was my first time attending a UC Davis sporting event, and it was actually more fun than I expected! But I definitely wouldn’t go if it weren’t for the hammocks.”

Bacon is not the only student who has attended their first game since the introduction of the new incentive. In the past two weeks, UC Davis has seen the largest boom in sports fandom ever. The “Aggie Pack,” which the Athletics Department has been desperately trying to revive, is finally back.

“When I got into the sports administration field, I had no idea that hanging beds of woven rope would be my legacy,” DeLuca said. “But I’m so thankful for what the hammocks and I have been able to achieve together.”

However, the program has faced scrutiny from some Quad dwellers who oppose the development.

“It’s hard to enjoy the little things in life when they’re constantly being hit with bureaucratization,” Aneita Pea, a third-year political science major, who has become an expert at securing hammock spots over the years, said. “Now my carefully developed strategies for getting a spot are obsolete.”

Despite criticism, the initiative is likely here to stay, as it has created huge benefits for the Athletics Department and sports game attendance overall.

Written by: Colina Harvey— sports@theaggie.org