ENGATE SPORTS EMPOWERMENT PLATFORM SHOWCASES AT UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AND BRINGS A NEW DIMENSION TO COLLEGE SPORTS NIL (NAME, IMAGE, LIKENESS)

Unique Japanese Engagement Initiative Connects Fans with Schools and Athletes Through In-Game Interactions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – HONOLULU, USA - (WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2024) - The most innovative sports gifting and sponsor activation service in the world has launched in the United States at the University of Hawaii.

Tried, tested and trusted in the Japanese sports market during the past six years, the unique Engate Sports Empowerment Platform connects fans with athletes through in-game interactions.

Engate fan engagement has the potential to bring a new dimension to the future of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) across the college sports landscape and the University of Hawaii is at the forefront of proving its capabilities.

The Engate service was tested and introduced to fans at Hawaii Men’s and Women’s basketball games on December 14 and 16 at the Stan Sheriff Center and will officially launch at Men’s Volleyball home games when the new season begins in January. Fans sign up at Engate.com.

“Hawaii is a situation where we can be innovative and we can be a trailblazer,” said University of Hawaii Director of Marketing and Fan Experience Eric Mathews. “This is a unique element of NIL in that it benefits the program, will benefit student athletes, and the fans feel like they’re making a difference. That’s what college athletics has never really done before. This is another layer to make attending games an even more positive experience for our fans.

“We have a fan base that really wants to be involved with its student athletes and with its teams. They are looking at the future of NIL through something that has never been seen before, and I am excited about that. As Engate gets bigger and bigger, every school in the entire country is going to do this, and our fans will have been the first to participate.”

The Engate initiative is born from the Japanese tradition of gift giving to show appreciation, with the intent of benefiting and engaging schools, athletes and fans. Fans may reward athletes in real time for producing great plays. That could be sinking a three-pointer, blocking a shot, or scoring on a spectacular ace or a kill. In return, fans can earn rewards for their loyalty, ranging from being recognized on the big screen at the big game to receiving signed merchandise and even meeting their heroes.

So, how does it work? In its simplest form, sports fans may purchase points that are awarded to individual athletes to celebrate their success on the court of play. Those points translate into financial gain for the university and varying levels of rewards for fans, combining revenue generation with valuable fan engagement. The advent of college athletes being able to benefit from their name, image and likeness (NIL) means that Engate points gifting may also reward athletes in the future.

Imagine an athlete makes a highlight reel play, triggering a hail of points or gifts showering them virtually from excited fans interacting while in the stadium or arena. The team wins, the athlete wins, the organization wins, and the top gifters are rewarded too.

The potential is limitless, with additional opportunities to apply the Engate model across the world of college sports and beyond in the professional arena, and to integrate sponsor activation.

“I think this initiative does a great job of serving the athletes and the fans,” said University of Hawaii middle-blocker Kurt Nusterer, who witnessed Engate in action when the Rainbow Warriors visited Japan. “It’s a win-win. Fans get to interact and support their school and the athletes that they like, and I think Engate has found something special where everyone is winning.”

For further details please contact Engate media representative Michael Preston: 781-363-0305 / michael@whatcheerpr.com.