Campus Success Story: Enabling Outdoor Recreation at Texas A&M University-Commerce

· by Ben Michalak

Outdoor spaces are important resources for campus recreation professionals that can be difficult to manage. For some, the challenge lies in providing consistent service quality and resource management standards comparable to controlled, indoor rec facilities. Others may struggle with visibility, especially if their outdoor space is far away from the campus’ indoor rec facilities. 

The Cain Sports Complex at Texas A&M University-Commerce (TAMUC) is located on the westernmost part of campus across four lanes of traffic. Historically, TAMUC staffed their Cain complex in the evenings to manage equipment check-outs. If students wanted to check out equipment outside of those hours, they’d have to walk half a mile across a busy highway to rent inventory from the Morris Recreation Center. Unfortunately, the demand for equipment in the evening hours at the Cain complex was relatively low. Coupled with students having to complete a half-hour roundtrip to check out and return equipment, it became clear staffing in the evening was an incomplete solution. 

When TAMUC Associate Director of Campus Recreation, Mark Spellmire, discovered RecRe’s automated all-in-one rental solution at a NIRSA conference, he saw an opportunity to shift their rental model to offering students around-the-clock access to outdoor sports equipment and recreational items.

“Our main problem was that we were staffing two individuals in the evenings at our Cain complex to check out equipment to one or two individuals a day…. The opportunity we saw [in RecRe] was that it would offer 24/7 access to checking out equipment and not just when we staffed the area.”

MARK SPELLMIRE, ASSISTANT DIR. OF CAMPUS RECREATION

TAMUC deployed their RecRe box a few feet away from the original check-out window in the center of the Cain complex. Located outdoors, the automated rental box is surrounded by baseball and softball fields, tennis courts, green space, and other types of outdoor recreation fields. Having a streamlined inventory rental system has made it easier for students to spend more time using and enjoying one of the campus’ most widely accessible outdoor facilities. 

“We researched other solutions but found none [that worked] until we came across RecRe. So far, we have only heard good things [from students], who enjoy that they can access equipment at any time”

MARK SPELLMIRE, ASSISTANT DIR. OF CAMPUS RECREATION

Furthermore, TAMUC’s approach to RecRe successfully expanded rec options and eliminated the need for students to make long treks to access recreation equipment across campus. 

The bottom line: With RecRe, TAMUC achieved the following: 

> 24/7 Outdoor Access: Students can access rec items at any time of the day. A significant portion of rentals occur outside traditional desk hours. 

> Optimized Budget: Offering automated rentals to students are a more effective use of TAMUC’s campus rec budget. 

> Optimized Recreation: By offering rentals near outdoor facilities, students can enjoy TAMUC’s diverse rec offerings. 

With outdoor recreation’s importance to student health and wellbeing, TAMUC’s experience with RecRe highlights a way campus rec professionals can improve their outdoor spaces and increase student engagement. If you want to access the data behind TAMUC’s success, you can download their campus success story.