Baylor Outfits New Stadium with Professional Grade Wi-Fi for an Interactive Fan Experience
Published: August 16, 2018
McLane Stadium is the home football stadium of Baylor University, a private higher education institution located in Waco, Texas. Devoted to delivering an exceptional gameday experience to its fans, in the fall of 2012 Baylor University embarked on a $260 million construction project to build an entirely new stadium on campus.
In today’s mobile-centric world, connectivity solutions are paramount in supporting the desired experience of a fan base particularly among the younger, more technology-oriented demographic. Acknowledging this trend, and eager to provide a more engaging in-venue experience, Baylor University chose Extreme Networks’ ExtremeWireless, outfitting the new stadium with a high density Wi-Fi solution to improve connectivity and enable an overall enhanced fan experience. As an added benefit, to guarantee a quality Wi-Fi experience for users and to establish another touch point with their fans, Baylor also chose to implement the Extreme Networks Certified Wi-Fi Coach Program to provide additional support for fans accessing the Wi-Fi network in-venue
Challenges
- Design and deliver a reliable and secure high-density Wi-Fi network for public use by tens of thousands of fans
- Leverage real-time content through gameday app; provide an interactive and engaging mobile experience for users while in-venue
- Establish visibility and control of users, devices, and applications on the network to ensure a quality experience
"As we conceived the technology infrastructure for the new stadium, the fan experience was always paramount. Today’s football fans are "always on" and we wanted to deliver a gameday experience that leveraged the capabilities of the next generation of mobile devices. In order to support fan engagement that includes streaming video, social media sharing, connecting with family and friends back home, and other things we could not yet imagine; we knew we would need to provide at least as much bandwidth as the top NFL stadiums."
Extreme Solutions
- ExtremeWireless™
- ExtremeAnalytics™
- ExtremeSwitching™
- ExtremeControl™
Results
In-Venue, High-Density Wi-Fi Internet Access
- Deliver free, open-access Wi-Fi to guests at McLane Stadium, vastly improving the mobile connectivity of the entire complex
Differentiated In-Venue Experience and Exclusive Content
- Fans access to day-to-day applications and mobile services used at home
- Baylor InGame app provides fans at McLane Stadium access to real-time content and interaction with the university like never before
Network Management
- Granular visibility into solution performance
- Seamless onboarding of personal devices and establishment of detailed network policies to enforce from a single pane of glass
- Leverage location-based services to permit access to certain applications in certain locations while in-venue
Certified Wi-Fi Coach Program for Ongoing Support
- Integrated training package for IT team to implement its very own Wi-Fi Coach program in-venue
- Wi-Fi Coach Program acts as a walking help desk for those who may need additional support accessing the network
- Baylor’s Wi-Fi Coach Program is staffed by undergraduate students studying Management Information Systems (MIS)