Get the 2011 FIU football schedule on your Android

Want the latest FIU football news while on the go? There’s an app for that. FIU alumnus Antonio Fierro ’10 has developed a free application for Android phone users with the 2011 football schedule and information.

Fierro took on the project with one goal in mind: to get more students to attend the games. “I’d love for a student to be hanging out on a Saturday in their dorm room, flipping through phone apps, bored, come across the app, see there’s a game that day, call up some friends, and head out to it,” says Fierro.

Antonio Fierro celebrates after the Panthers defeated the University of Toledo Rockets at the 2010 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. Photo by Sam Lewis.

FIU fans may recognize Fierro. He’s at all the home games, decked out in blue and gold, cheering on the team. He even made a cameo in the 2010 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl championship video.

Fierro wasn’t always so involved. As an undergraduate, he worked more than 55 hours and barely spent any time on campus. Right after his 20^th birthday, he was laid off. The criminal justice major eventually found a job at the FIU Broward Pines Center.

Fierro says working at FIU gave him back the college experience he had missed out on. The games, he says, are about camaraderie and making memories. “My best friend isn’t an FIU student or a diehard football fan, but he goes to a lot of games with me because they’re a great experience.”

Creating the Android app was a crash course in coding and app development for the Panther fan, who is pursuing his master’s in criminal justice at FIU. He spent more than 70 hours learning and testing it out. “It’s something I’m continuing to update and I’m working on adding more features.”

To download Fierro’s app, visit the Android Market.

The 2011 season kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 1, when the Panthers host the North Texas Mean Green. Game time is 7p.m. For season tickets call 305-FIU-GAME.