LITTLE ROCK — A football-themed video game that makes players answer finance-based questions to move the ball down the field will be offered to public schools across the state, officials announced Thursday.
At a news conference and demonstration at the state Capitol, Arkansas State Treasurer Martha Shoffner and Minnesota Vikings Quarterback Christian Ponder led two teams of high school students playing against one another at "Financial Football," an educational video game developed by Visa.
The game will be provided to schools across the state at no charge to the schools, Shoffner said, and it's also available online.
Under the broad themes of finance and money management, the question topics and difficulty levels varied greatly. In one instance, Shoffner's team - represented on the virtual field as the New York Giants - were asked to calculate a percent-off. Correctly answering that taking 30 percent off of $50 equaled $35 resulted in the player moving 18 yards down the field.
On another down, the team had to pick the correct definition for blue chip stock.
"Some of the questions I didn't even know," said Ponder, who earned a degree in finance while a student-athlete at Florida State. "I think it's important for the kids to learn as much as possible. It's your money. it's important to understand how to handle it and understand the financial world."
The students, who came from Bauxite High School, Wilbur Mills High School, Joe T. Robinson High School and Hall High School, seemed to enjoy the game, letting out sighs of disappointment when they found there was only time for the first half. Many knew the answers right away - some saying they had just learned similar lessons in an accounting class - but other times a wrong answer stalled a drive and gave the other team an opportunity.
Ultimately, Shoffner's Giants beat Ponder's Vikings 15-0.
Ponder, who has a degree in finance from Florida State, gave each student a signed photo and addressed them before the game began. Among other lessons in a short speech, he said he should have spent more time thinking about a sports car he bought after signing his first contract because such big financial decisions demand contemplation.
"In the NFL, when you're handed a lot of money at a very fast pace, you know it's kind of hard to handle it sometimes," Ponder said. "So I've kind of learned in the past five, six months how important financial responsibility is, how it's important to set yourself up for the rest of your life ... I think it's important for the young people here to establish habits early."
More than 30 other states also make the "Financial Football" game available to students. The effort was developed through a collaboration between Visa and the NFL.