Atlantic 10 Conference Basketball Marketing: What We Can Learn from #2 Xavier

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, #5 Rhode Island, #4 George Washington, and #3 Charlotte.

Let's keep moving.

#2 Xavier

What the program is known for? The best "Mid Major" this side of Gonzaga. They've been to the Dance 20 times, including 8 of the last 9 years. And 3 of those times they've gone to the Sweet 16. NBA All-Star David West is a Musketeer alum. You ready now?

Why are they 2nd? 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 Xavier? (link here)

1. A Twitter Army

Simply put, Xavier kills it on Twitter. The Musketeers hit you with one of the deepest Twitter lineups I've seen. Head Coach Chris Mack, Assistants Pat Kelsey, Orlando Ranson, Travis Steele, Jeremy Growe, and Sports Info Director Tom Eiser are all out there.

Wow.

Coaches Mack, Steele, and Growe are very active. As you can see below, there's a powerful image of Coach Mack (which should probably be a group shot of everyone, really) to hype their presence. Now if they can take that combined energy and unite it together, look out.

Now let me hit you with a quick Flickr style gallery of their pages, scroll through below...

But before we pat ourselves on the back, here's a challenge. What could we have if we actually could make these forces work together? Here's the page you get when you first click into Xavier on Twitter. It's fine. It gets you where you want to go. OK.

But what if it was more? What if it was something amazing? What if we were hit with a world where we saw all of these Twitter sites, together? And if they were feeding off each other.... with a moderator even? How inviting would that be? How powerful could this be?

That's amazing.

2. Elevating an All Star

David West is the star that led Xavier to a great place. And they are one of the few schools who are building on this legacy online, in two ways. First, they remind you of his time at Xavier. (Though they need to amp this up. Tell me more about what he did for Xavier, how Xavier shaped him, rather than what he's done in the NBA, away from Xavier!)

And, then, they actually take D West and pump up his season impact in Facebook. See below -- that is smart. Why not hype up his accomplishments in realtime, as they happen? That's hot. Could they offer up a chance to have an online Facebook chat with West? (For Xavier fans only, of course?) This is merely the start...

3. Make Facebook Fun

Great segway, huh? The Musketeers get Facebook. (link here) They really do. They remember it is all about being youthful and fun. So there's a contest to get an X Blue Blob. They're hidden on campus and you find out where they are via clues here.

The prizes don't matter. It's about finding fun ways to connect people.

Nicely done!

That's it.... for now.

Now hit us tomorrow as we finish out the A-10.