University of Texas Athletics teams with Ricoh to bring football fans to the stadium in the form of printed cutouts
EXTON, Pa., Sept. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ricoh USA, Inc. has teamed with University of Texas Athletics to produce individualized fan cutouts to help fill the stands at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, home of the Texas Longhorns football team, during game days. These cutouts, produced in conjunction with local Ricoh partner UT Print San Antonio, allow fans to show their school spirit while respecting social distancing guidelines. A portion of the proceeds contribute to the health and safety resources for more than 500 Longhorn student-athletes, including weekly COVID-19 testing, special health monitoring related to COVID-19, clean masks, face shields, and more.
"The fans make Longhorns Football what it is, so the thought of not having the full force of that cheering spirit in the stands was simply unacceptable. We needed to be innovative to deliver for our team, school and fans," said Chris Del Conte, Vice President and Director of Texas Athletics. "When we decided we wanted to have fan cutouts, we of course reached out to our partner, Ricoh, to make it a reality. As we worked out logistics, it became clear we could produce the cutouts locally and put the proceeds toward supporting health and safety, all while giving fans a chance to show their pride. This quickly turned from a morale booster to true investment in the community, one that wouldn't have been possible without our partnership with Ricoh."
The program is already widely popular. In fact, fans bought more than 500 cutouts within the first 24 hours of the promotion. To support this high demand, Ricoh helped manage the overall process while working closely with Texas Athletics and UT Print San Antonio. This approach reinforced Ricoh's ongoing commitment to growing alliances with partners and customers, while helping ensure collaboration between experts at each organization was seamless. UT Print San Antonio prints the cutouts in-house on its fast, versatile RICOH Pro T7210 flatbed.
"At the end of the day, sporting events are about community, and in the era of social distancing, supporting communities isn't always achievable in person," said Gavin Jordan-Smith, Senior Vice President, Commercial and Industrial Print, Ricoh Americas. "This project helps fans feel connected to their team and brings cheering fans to game day 'in person.' At the same time, it offers a new way to contribute to student-athletes' health and well-being, helping keep them safe on and off the field. Each of our companies are invested in the University's success, and are committed to collaborative innovation to help move communities forward."
"The way this local community comes together for Texas Athletics is truly something special to see," said Garry Boytos, Director, UT Print San Antonio. "It has been an honor and a joy to play a role in bringing the fans back to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium while helping keep student-athletes, staff and fans safe."
Ricoh's partnership as the Official Workplace Technology Provider of Texas Athletics is managed by Longhorn Sports Properties, the Austin-based Learfield IMG College team and Texas Athletics' multi-media rightsholder.
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Ricoh is empowering digital workplaces using innovative technologies and services enabling individuals to work smarter. For more than 80 years, Ricoh has been driving innovation and is a leading provider of document management solutions, IT services, communications services, commercial and industrial printing, digital cameras, and industrial systems.
Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in approximately 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ended March 2020, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,008 billion yen (approx. 18.5 billion USD).
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