This college wants more students at a big football game. It's offering free beer.

Trying to boost student attendance at a key college football matchup, one school has landed on an unusual promotion

Trying to boost student attendance at a key college football matchup, one school has landed on an unusual promotion.

Free beer, anyone?

Rice University in Houston is offering free 12-ounce beers for students 21 and older at a stand near Rice Stadium’s student section, the university announced Thursday — and beer isn't the only enticement the university hopes will draw in more student fans for the Owls' game against 22nd-ranked North Texas on Saturday.

Showing a student ID will also earn free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream; a free T-shirt, for the first 500 students; and a $15 voucher that can be used at two food trucks. The residential college with the highest attendance can win a speaker and a $500 gift card to a local grocery, too.

“The weekend before Thanksgiving, a lot of students are already heading off campus, heading home for the holiday, things like that,” said Kevin Dwan, Rice’s deputy athletic director for external affairs and revenue generation. “So we wanted to be as creative as possible to incentivize the students to stick around and come out to the game. That’s kind of the genesis of it.”