Big East College Basketball Marketing: #15 Seton Hall

As you know, I'm pretty pumped at the chance to dive deep into the programs of the Big East Conference. The history (and the today) of this conference is amazing. Every squad has a chance to define what they stand for, and to sell the Big East in the process.

We're going to look at how programs are communicating to young athletes from a digital point of view. We dive into this because websites and digital marketing create an opportunity for coaches and programs to share what they stand for. The internet is always there, and always on. And, as they do on the court, the best programs take advantage of opportunities.

Thus far our journey has shown us #16 DePaul.

Let's keep moving.

#: Seton Hall

The Digital Scouting Report

Strengths: Pretty cool Twitter icon on the Home Page. Am I reaching?

Weaknesses: The basketball program needs an infusion of interactivity.

Full Scouting Report:

I had visions of Andrew Gaze and PJ Carlesimo and their trip to the NCAA Finals in 1989 when I hit the Seton Hall home page, here. Visions of this because Seton Hall has a story to tell, a vision to portray...



First, I scrolled to the bottom of the page are rotating touts for Facebook and Twitter. (I dig the Twitter tout's personality). The Facebook tout, well it is what it is, right?



First, let's click into the Facebook page. Sadly, you have to be approved as a friend to get any additional info. To me, these programs need to open themselves up to fans and young athletes, not make people go through an extra step (and not an immediate step at that) to see what you're about.




I moved on to the Twitter page. As you'll see below, their Twitter page isn't protected, meaning you can auto-sign up without having to be "approved". Much better, though it made me wonder even more about their Facebook page. They've got around 500 followers and they aren't following anyone. Updates are very sporadic and across all sports, which leads to a lot of uncertainty on what you get when you choose to follow the Pirates. I'm glad they are set up.... I just want the consistency and originality to follow.





Back to the Home Page, you'll see that the Fan Zone Dropdown Menu (shown here) gives you access to Facebook (strangely called Facebook Profile), Twitter, and Ask the AD.



Clicking on Ask the AD takes you to a space where you can post a question to the Athletic Director. Selected questions and answers get posted on the site. I like the opennness here... and as you can tell, I want more of it!




The next area I wanted to dive into was the Prospective Student-Athletes Dropdown. This is the spot for recruits, but it's definitely not well-branded. Think of what we saw with Oregon (link here) and their "Be A Duck" navigation. That's MUCH more impactful. The content beneath is really just formal stuff too, as you'll note.




OK, it's time to move on to the basketball home page, shown below. You'll see a lower menu in grey appear, where we'll move next.



As we saw in DePaul, the Media Guide is available to view (or download) online. I like that it's here, just wish they took the content out of the Guide and built it into the site instead.





OK, History. As I said earlier, this is where Seton Hall can shine. Not many schools have been in a title game in the past 20 years. They have.... but as you'll see below, you get a list of records and links for statistics. What you don't get is branding, or the story of this journey.


And that wraps the Pirates. When you aren't the most dominant squad in the conference, you have an even bigger obligation to define your program. What they stand for. And what it means to join. What would SHU say if they sat across the table from someone who asked the question, "Why should I think about being a Pirate?" And that answer has to pump through every piece of this site.

Thanks for reading. Let's keep rolling through the Big East tomorrow!

Andy