College Basketball: Digital Big Ten Preview, #1: Penn State

Today marks the conclusion of our digital minded journey through the Big Ten Conference, from less best to best. We know these programs are out there, waiting for potential recruits to click in. And we've seen who gets it and who doesn't (as much). Thus far, our tour has shown us #11Northwestern, #10Michigan, #9 Ohio State, and #8 Wisconsin, #7 Indiana, #6 Purdue, #5 Iowa, 4 Minnesota, #3 Michigan State, and #2 Illinois.

Here we go.

#1: Penn State

The Digital Scouting Report

Strengths: Best branding I've come across in my journey, period.

Weaknesses: Extend this branding style into the Men's Basketball home page!

Full Scouting Report:

I never would have predicted it. In fact, if you check out my preview here, you'll see I picked these guys to finish 10th. I guess I proved that I'm not influenced by my own instincts, I guess. But the bottom line is these guys are fantastic. Clicking into the Penn State athletics site, here, takes you to a page that's pretty similar to other top sites we've reviewed. I think it's designed to quickly get you where you need to go.

If you scroll down the page you'll see just beneath the main window is this space, directing you to follow Penn State athletics on Twitter or Facebook. Naturally, I'd prefer to see this elevated above the fold to the top of the site. But let's dive in.

The Facebook link takes you here, to the Nittany Lions Athletics site. It's well done and frequently updated, but does cover all sports.

The Twitter icon takes you here, to a very thorough directory of PSU Athletics Twitter sites. I even had to paste this as two images as it is a very extensive number of options.


Here's the full listing of Coaches, across all sports.



There are two Twitter sites for the basketball program, first Assistant Coach Lewis Preston is up (link here) with roughly 100 followers but very relevant posts.

And the athletics department has a site here (with very weird branding) set to post on basketball and football. And did I mention the background is strange?



OK, diving into the men's basketball site is where things start to get interesting. The first thing you'll notice is the callout for GOPSB.com. Patience. We'll get there in just a second. You'll note to the right there's a video player streaming in PSU highlights.

And if you scroll down just a smidge you'll find the PSU Athletics Twitter feed pumping life into the site.

OK, on to the GOPSB site, which is the main site for Penn State basketball. Go ahead and click here if you'd like. It's well worth it. I have to admit that I was a bit unsure about this site. I mean Penn State is a football school, right? Well let's drive around and you can let me know what you think!



First, I clicked in on Coach Dechellis and got this image. What I love about this site (among other things) is the statements you take with you. Here's an amazing statement by Coach DeChellis. Powerful. And you can click into watch him in action.



Next, I moved to the Assistant Coaches -- the section that's often overlooked on sites. But not here. You understand who they are and how they fit into the PSU program. (Oh and you can click in to watch video content of course)

Are you fired up yet? Let's check out the "TEAM" section. Again, you get hit with a powerful visual. An impactful and succinct statement. And access to video content.

And all of this video content lives here, in the Vault. The quality of videos is really amazing. It's crisp, it feels personal, it makes me want to follow this program.



And when I clicked on the Team part of the vault I got an interesting mix of not just current days, but there are actually stories about who these players are as people. How they got here. How they were as kids. It's touching. And I feel more connected to the program by watching these. Even if you don't click in, you get it from these images, don't you?




And PSU doesn't underestimate how important good facilities are. They talk about their space in positive vibes, the magic that is created here. And you get some amazing behind the scenes tours of the school, the gym, the conference. Powerful.


So in all I am fired up about Penn State. They literally blew away my expectations. They opened my eyes to the power of simple branding and well done videos.

But I still want more. I want to see these videos grow during the season. I want to see them become more active on Twitter and Facebook and to elevate the work that they are doing. But they've won over a fan!

Come back tomorrow as we review the best things we've found in the Big Ten Conference.