In December of 2022, Pope High School had just won the baseball state championship in Truist Park. Josh Mathews, athletic director at Pope High School, walked onto the field after the Pope victory and had a moment with his eight-year-old son that he will remember forever.
“I told him, ‘John if you do this when you get to this age... I hope you get to experience this,’” Mathews said. “I’ll get emotional here... I want him to experience that moment and further than that, I want all of our kids to experience that moment.”
His passion for education-based athletics fuels him to give the Pope High School students and community the best event experience possible. With GoFan and the NFHS Network, he can provide an all-encompassing platform for Pope High School athletics to flourish.
When it comes to streaming games on the NFHS Network, Mathews praises the accessibility it provides to those out of state.
“We had a baseball family who had grandparents in California,” Mathews said. “We were in the playoffs making a run at the state championship, and we were able to produce throughout the playoffs and they were able to watch their grandkids play.”
Mathews also watches games on the NFHS Network and shared his personal experience as a viewer. As an athletic director, he can't be at every game in person and prioritizes time with his family.
“I remember we were playing our rival, Walton, in a big baseball game on a Monday,” Mathews said. “We had a toddler, and we were doing bathtime, and over in the corner I’ve got the game on NFHS Network.”
While streaming games for the fans who can’t make it to the event is important, it’s also essential to provide fans attending in person with a great ticketing experience. Mathews is an early adopter of digital ticketing and praises the all-sports pass option for his students.
“We have all sports passes that are a big deal at Pope High School,” Mathews said. “We have about 80% of our student-athletes with a sports pass, so we wanted those to be digital.”
Once the Pope community started using the all-sports passes, they quickly saw the convenience of a digital approach and were eager to use digital ticketing for individual events. Throughout their journey with ticketing and streaming, Mathews has appreciated the guidance from our Customer Success team.
“Customer service is a home run,” Mathews said. “I get great customer service with every platform from day one.”
Next Steps
With the combined GoFan and NFHS Network experience, Pope High School students and fans can experience every moment that Pope athletics bring. To learn more about how PlayOn can help your school, check out our recent blogs linked below or contact us for a quick call.