The 2014-2015 Crusader Scholarship Challenge concluded last week and Valpo Athletics is proud to announce the three prize winners.

Fred Villarruel, the director of marketing for athletics, spearheaded the inaugural promotion in an attempt to both stimulate interest and boost attendance at all athletic events. 

"We came up with this idea with the hopes that student attendance would increase and we felt we accomplished that. We had a number of coaches, especially from fall sports, tell us the their teams noticed more students in the stands," Villarruel said.

With 80 check-ins out of a possible 100 events, freshman Cole Evans took home the grand prize of free tuition. Evans, a meteorology major and Christ College student, described himself as a basketball and football fan prior to this first-of-its-kind promotion. However, the Crusader Scholarship Challenge resulted in him becoming a more well-rounded sports fan.

"Before this event, I had honestly never been to a volleyball match, a swim meet, or a bowling tournament. I got to do all that because of the Challenge. So I had an interest in sports, but there was a lot I hadn't witnessed as a sports spectator," Evans said.

Evans caught wind of the Crusader Scholarship Challenge during FOCUS, Valpo's new-student orientation. He appreciated the novelty of it, and received encouragement from his mother.

"It sounded like a cool idea. I've never heard of another school doing it before and I figured that with three other siblings getting ready to go to college soon, I should probably help my parents pay for college in whatever way I could," Evans quipped.

Evans plans to apply the $33,680 grand prize towards his 2015-2016 bill. 

Josh Trueblood, a graduate student and volunteer assistant for the men's tennis team, was awarded the second-place prize of free housing, valued at $6,200. Trueblood, who says he plans to award his free housing to a student, checked in to 76 events. He echoed Evans' sentiments about taking in events he had never witnessed prior to this contest. 

"I had never been to a swimming event before, so the Crusader Scholarship Challenge forced me to and I ended up enjoying it," Trueblood remarked.

Sophomore Stephon David accumulated 66 check-ins. As a result, he will be awarded an academic year's worth of meals, valued at $3,980. 

Overall, 674 total participants took part in the unprecedented academic year-long event. 

Villarruel noted that the University's Social Rewards membership increased by 513 individuals during the past year, a figure that composes nearly half of the current total of 1,109. The promotion quickly spread around campus and help set records both on-campus and digitally.

"From a social media perspective, our reach, impressions, and views are at the highest they've ever been," Villarruel stated.