Atlantic 10 Conference Basketball Marketing: What We Can Learn from #4 George Washington

There's something (or things) that every program does a fantastic job of that we can learn from. In anything you do, if you can find the good in what someone does and do more of that and then avoid what you find to be less effective, you'll end up in a better place.

Thus far our journey through the Atlantic 10 has shown us #14 St Joseph's, #13 La Salle, #12 Saint Louis, #11 Fordham, #10 U Mass, and #9 Temple, #8 Duquesne, #7 St Bonaventure, #6 Richmond, and #5 Rhode Island.

Let's keep moving.

#4 George Washington

What the program is known for? I can't think of GW without picturing Coach Jarvis in my mind. His 8 year run in the 90's led to 7 postseason appearances and 1 visit to the NCAA Sweet 16). The Colonials' last appearance in the Dance was in 2007.

Why are they 4th? As you'll see in the links below, when we hit GW, we hit a new level of content in the A-10. They distance themselves from the pack beneath them by making it easy to get what you want and by getting very crisp in some key areas. Where could they improve? Access. Get us closer to the team and coaches now. And don't shy away from the history you have!

What inspired me about GW? (link here)

1. Raise your hand if you want to play hoops at GW!

To some degree, I see athletics website home pages as kind of like air traffic controllers. They should work really well, but never lose site of the fact that their biggest job is to get you where you need to go. And that they can steer you to a great experience somewhere on the site.

GW does this boldly by stating "For Recruits" at the top of the site. I love this, it's a funnel and I'm in. My only challenge is that what if you built an entire website with the thought that it was ALL for recruits.... Now this area could change to be "Tell us about you". That's powerful.

Click in and you get quickly ported to your sport of choice...

... and then you are hit up with a form. Not the best experience. These are kids who want to play for you. Don't hit them up first with a form (where you even want their Social Security #, wow)... Instead remind them of all the reasons why GW is a great place that they would get a great education and play for a championship at...

So the idea is fantastic. The challenge is to connect with that recruit who definitely is raising his hand!

2. Here's how you follow us.

GW gets to the point here as well. Crisp. Click on this icon...

... and get to this image. (Though it's tough to say Facebook or Twitter is a "Tradition"!) I love this as it is extremely simple but you know exactly how to stay in touch. This is something we should all be doing, to make it really easy to follow us.

3. Here's what we stand for.

I was pumped to see a tout for Coach Hobbs' website (linked here). Then I saw a POWERFUL phrase at the bottom. "Coaching Philosophy". That's amazing.

In Coach's words, this is what he wants in a student athlete. It's great as you see how he thinks, how he communicates, and what he values. And you get a feel for if you fit in or not.

I know it's tough to read, so check this example. And see how powerful this is. Why shouldn't this be something we all do? Really nice work Coach!

"When I go out and recruit a player to be an integral part of my program he must have a burning desire to accomplish four things. Number one, he must have a burning desire to graduate with a degree because education is important to be successful in life. Number two, he must have a burning desire to win, and I am talking about conference championships and dreaming of winning a national championship. Number three, he must have a burning desire to improve as a player and a person. I take great pride in working to develop my players on and off the court. Number four, he must have a burning desire to want to play in the NBA. I want players who are willing to work hard and commit to chasing their dreams. If he doesn't have those four things, then I am not the right coach for that individual.

As a coach my motto is: 40 HARD. That means during the course of the game, we are committed to playing as hard as we can for as long as we can because every possession has an impact on the outcome of the game. I am committed to full-court pressure defense to dictate the pace of the game and a fast-break up-tempo style of offense to take advantage of our athleticism and mismatches as we attack on the offensive end. To be effective with this style of play, I look for athletes who are committed to outwork the opponent and who want to improve all facets of their game as well as develop their basketball IQ."

That's it... come back tomorrow as we move into the top 3!!!

Andy