It is a well-known fact that college students get excited about free stuff. But what do they like more than free stuff? Free money. 

This past week on Tuesday, Oct. 2, the Student Activities Board (SAB) kicked off BVU’s homecoming with a plethora of celebratory events for students and staff alike. While SAB staples included Midnight Movies and Bingo, students at Buena Vista University (BVU) were also treated to their first ever “Free Money Game Show.” 

A Jeopardy style trivia game, host Adam Ace used songs and quotes from different movies, TV shows, Broadway musicals and bands. Four teams consisting of two people were invited up on stage to try their hand at the trivia. If they answered correctly, the team was awarded 100 points. The game progressively got more difficult, allowing people in the audience to get a chance at being on stage if those already there could not answer the question. 

SAB President Isabel Haas helped obtain the contract for the game show at the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA). Every year the vice presidents of SAB members attend the conference in Minneapolis and look for people and events they want to contract and bring to BVU. 

“What actually is kind of funny is Tawney Schreier, the previous SAB president, she actually played the game at NACA and won the high score of the whole weekend,” said Haas. “Adam said that he would come to BV and the first $200 would be free money since she won.” 

In Minneapolis the event drew quite a crowd, so SAB felt that it would be a great addition to the Homecoming activities.  

“So, the great thing about NACA is that they offer these people to us to contract in that moment, or they send us away with information to contact them,” said Haas. “So, we do contact some people at NACA, but the game show was not one of them. I want to say this was in the summer that we reached out.” 

It’s hard to keep track of the exact number in attendance, but Haas estimated that 80-100 students were enticed by the prospect of free money. 

“We hoped that people would be willing to get up and get involved. It’s kind of always are in the mood to participate, especially if you have to get up on stage in front of a lot of people.” 

Sophomore Summit Nielsen felt as though the night was a success and expressed her enjoyment. 

“It was so fun! It was also very competitive, and there was a lot of yelling involved. But I think everybody that went had a good time,” said Nielsen. 

As the game progressed, the questions became more difficult and the prize money increased, upping the stakes for players. The most money that could be won throughout the night was $120, or $60 for each person in a pair. 

“It was really fun to not only see people participating but also having fun,” said Haas. “I think that’s the big takeaway with SAB; not only do we want people to be there, we want people to have a good time and experience things and just to enjoy the event. I think that was the goal and it seemed to be accomplished.” 

Haas hopes that SAB will be putting on more events like the game show in the future, but even though they can look to contract Adam Ace again, she notes that SAB tries not to keep bringing the same things to campus in order to provide students with some variety and excitement. 

Senior SAB member and game show participant Mikayla Foster thought the event was mostly successful. For a bigger contract like Ace, a larger audience would have been liked. 

“However, everyone was given the chance to get up on stage or win money in one way or another,” said Foster. “It was a very competitive environment but there were a lot of laughs. I think everyone enjoyed it and I heard only good things following the event.” 

“The SAB VP, especially the VP of Homecoming Hayley Haines, worked really hard to put it all together. A lot of time and thought was put into it and I think they did a great job,” said Haas. 

BVU students can look forward to more fun events put on by SAB throughout the year, including a hypnotist in December and a band for the Block Party.