• Subscribe
  • E-Newsletter
  • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Login
Campus Rec Magazine
  • Sections
    • Columns
    • Facility Development
    • News
    • Operations
    • Programming
    • Rec of the Month
    • Staff Development
    • Well-being
    • Profiles
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • E-Newsletter
    • Contact Us
  • On-Demand
  • Supplier Insights
    • Brand Voice
    • Supplier News
    • Supplier Voice
  • Podcast
  • Webinars
  • Education
    • CR Leadership Summit
    • CR Base Camp
    • Pickleball Innovators
  • Buyer’s Guide
No Result
View All Result
  • Sections
    • Columns
    • Facility Development
    • News
    • Operations
    • Programming
    • Rec of the Month
    • Staff Development
    • Well-being
    • Profiles
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • E-Newsletter
    • Contact Us
  • On-Demand
  • Supplier Insights
    • Brand Voice
    • Supplier News
    • Supplier Voice
  • Podcast
  • Webinars
  • Education
    • CR Leadership Summit
    • CR Base Camp
    • Pickleball Innovators
  • Buyer’s Guide
No Result
View All Result
Campus Rec Magazine
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Going Mobile at UC Riverside

Karima Neghmouche by Karima Neghmouche
April 11, 2017
in News, Operations, Technology
1
UC Riverside
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedIn

We use our smartphones to check everything — our texts, our missed calls, the weather, what day of the week it is, our e-mail … all this information is available to us within seconds at our fingertips. We’re spoiled with the ability to quickly Google whatever question we may have that day, and it becomes frustrating when that information isn’t available.

The Recreation Center at the University of California, Riverside, constantly had their phones ringing off the hooks with questions from the students —“What classes are available today?” “What time is spinning?” “What days a week is their yoga?”

Recreation marketing manager, Dusan Stancic, said that students could only see scheduling information inside of the Recreation Center or on their webpage — which wasn’t mobile responsive. Stancic used both his marketing experience and background in computer science to craft the perfect idea for a mobile-friendly, regularly updated schedule: an app.

“We have large TV screens with the schedules inside of the Recreation Center,” said Stancic. “So, I thought, what if we took the data we are already using on the screens and convert it to an app? That way if they’re in their dorm room or not on campus they can see what’s happening. Look at the demographic, they’re students, they all have mobile apps, wouldn’t it be great for them to be able to see what’s happening right now, or next week, or in a few hours in the Rec Center?”

UC RiversideStancic said he had a vision for the app and he refused to settle for anything less — making him the lead project manager on launching the application for the university’s Rec Center. While he knew what he wanted, it took around three years for him to find the right developer, or someone that could translate his vision into an application.

“Finding developers was a chore, I went through a lot of developers and vendors, trying to figure out what they could do, and they came up with their own idea and design and a lot of cookie cutter solutions instead of developing the work for it,” explained Stancic. “I provided sketches, I knew a little something about coding with my computer science background, so I spoke with an actual coder instead of just a salesperson, and I said ‘listen, I have this thought for the design, I can give you a wireframe, but I need someone who can take the code, interpret it, and build out the specs for my app.”

The application touches on all the programs that are offered in the Recreation Center, let’s you register for the class online, adds the class to your schedule on your mobile device, has a built in QR code reader that lets students update how their workout went on the app and shows featured photos from different programs offered at the facility.

“A lot of apps for other schools had a very static front face, click-on-a-button feel,” he added. “We wanted to have a feel similar to Instagram, where we have photos of our student base using our center, that way it hits home to students, who can then say they’re featured on the app.”

UC RiversideStancic explained they use social media to recruit students to the app, and after their official launch of the app in December, they used a marketing campaign to promote the app on campus that included videos on Facebook and Youtube, ads on the digital screens on campus, a print campaign with the slogan, “Fit Happens at Your Fingertips.”

“Fit happens is the brand,” Stancic said. “It shows, we’re edgy, we’re fun, we wanna have fun, you should have fun too — so download the UCSRC mobile app.”

Since December, the app has had 1,200 downloads from the Apple store and around 500 from the Google store.

“We’re getting great feedback from students and staff who use the app,” said Stancic. “They say it’s such an easy tool to use, pretty to look at … we went to a conference and showed the app off and people fell in love with it, students like that they have the information right there, the front counter at the Recreation Center likes it because instead of getting a guide out they can see what’s happening within the next few days.”

Expert advice: “My advice would be, don’t just go with the cookie-cutter solution, let your vision be known to the developer, don’t settle, find one that will give you what you want without taking an arm and a leg off of you. Find someone who has a little background in technology that can guide the process and make the vision a reality,” Stancic said.

The application is available in the app store and is called “UCRiverside Recreation.”

Karima Neghmouche can be contacted at kari@peakemedia.com.

 

Stay up to date on industry trends, best practices, news and more.

Tags: Appsmobile appmobile technologyUC RiversideUCRiverside RecreationUniversity of California Riverside
Previous Post

PlayCore Acquires Alta Enterprises

Next Post

Did You Learn Something New Today?

Karima Neghmouche

Karima Neghmouche

Related Posts

How USF St. Petersburg is Advancing Sustainable Campus Transportation with Student-Led Initiatives
Operations

How USF St. Petersburg is Advancing Sustainable Campus Transportation with Student-Led Initiatives

April 24, 2025
ai in campus rec
Columns

The AI Imperative: Why, Now and How to Responsibly Use AI in Campus Rec

April 15, 2025
hiring for group fitness programs
Columns

Spring Into Success: How to Streamline Hiring for Group Fitness Programs

March 25, 2025
capital planning
Operations

5 Capital Planning Pitfalls to Avoid

March 19, 2025
hazing
Operations

Prevent Hazing in Campus Recreation

March 19, 2025
data visualization
Columns

Storytelling with Dashboards: Using Data Visualization to Promote Campus Recreation

March 18, 2025
Next Post
Learn

Did You Learn Something New Today?

Comments 1

  1. Matt Schmiedl says:
    8 years ago

    Are you able to share who or what the company is that developed the app? I would be interested in following up to get more information. Thank you!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Updates in your inbox

Stay up to date on industry trends, best practices, news and more.

Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn
Campus Rec Logo

The premier business resource for college and university recreation centers.

The Current Issue

May/June 2025

May/June 2025

Browse

  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • E-Newsletter
  • Podcast
  • Media Kit
  • Contact

© 2025 Campus Rec Magazine. Published by Peake Media.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Sections
    • Columns
    • Facility Development
    • News
    • Operations
    • Programming
    • Rec of the Month
    • Staff Development
    • Well-being
    • Profiles
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Past Issues
    • Subscribe
    • E-Newsletter
    • Contact Us
  • On-Demand
  • Supplier Insights
    • Brand Voice
    • Supplier News
    • Supplier Voice
  • Podcast
  • Webinars
  • Education
    • CR Leadership Summit
    • CR Base Camp
    • Pickleball Innovators
  • Buyer’s Guide

© 2025 Campus Rec Magazine. Published by Peake Media.