Here's a final reminder in case you're joining late. These seeds were calculated using a weighted average between how the teams connect on social media, the level of access they give you to their program, the level of branding and emotion they deliver, the quality and depth of content, and (naturally) the intangibles... though it's digital so isn't everything intangible?
And finally, keep in mind that every team in this field of 68 is inspiring -- that's how they got here, to the big digital stage. And we can take great learnings from each of them.
Let's go.
1- Kentucky vs 16- South Carolina Upstate/Liberty
Kentucky is a great mix of grit and substance, getting a lot out of what they have (and they also have a lot). SCU and Liberty offer promise, but UK is a 1-seed for a reason...
Bid: SEC Champ, Automatic
Breaking Down Kentucky: Kentucky will impress you in surprising ways. They don't necessarily wow you with sizzle but instead by getting the most out of what they have. Coach Cal.com offers a great example of this philosophy with their postgame mashups, which combine the play-by-play with box scores with Coach Cal's interviews with photography taken from an iPhone. Pretty cool stuff, here's an example. If it's sizzle you want, they give us a look into the sites & sounds of each game, like the Florida game here. And, naturally, Coach Cal's one of the leaders in leveraging Foursquare, so we always know where he is.
Bid: Atlantic Sun Champ, Automatic
Breaking Down SCSU: Head Coach Eddie Payne's site gets intimate with us -- via a photo gallery that shows us (in pictures, no words) how the team travels. We see what they see and there's power in these visuals, for sure.
Bid: Big South Champ, Automatic
Breaking Down Liberty: The home page gives us immediate access to two things: social media and when the next game is, by making both crazy prominent. When you add a crisp design, the result makes a solid impression.
8-Villanova vs 9- Bradley
Great matchup between two programs with the digital pieces to cause trouble in the tourney. Both have foundations to build upon -- now they just need to activate.
Bid: At-Large
Breaking Down Nova: The verdict on Villanova is tbd. I say this because the current basketball site, TheNovaNation is shown as "coming soon." Click in here... What Nova has done well is recognize that basketball is about more than simply on the court, building out a section on Life After Basketball that, literally, shows us a list of alums, majors, and where they work now.
Bid: At-Large
Breaking Down Bradley: The depth and branding inside Bradley's recruiting guide is extremely strong -- as they take somewhat tough to digest stats and present them as what amounts to a visual resume. And it works - check it for yourself, here. If they can take this energy and apply it to the rest of their site, look out!
4-Alabama vs 13- Florida Atlantic
Interesting matchup involving an SEC powerhouse Alabama who uses digital as a pillar to build their program and a Sun Belt program who leverages digital to focus our attention on the right information.
Bid: At-Large
Breaking Down Alabama: Coach Anthony Grant says his style is to aggressive, disruptive, and distinctive. That could apply to their digital style as well as the Tide are a fantastic example of using digital to build your brand. You even get a deep look into their coaching staff, via NBA Draft experts and the National basketball media, here.
Bid: At-Large
Breaking Down FAU: FAU is the third Sun Belt member to crack this field, after North Texas and Middle Tennessee State. They lead with access to social, elevating social. (Top Stories, Headlines, Tickets, and Social are always front and center -- giving the squad the right framework to build upon.
5-Oklahoma vs 12- Western Michigan
I love these 5-12 matchups, as they involve teams with distinct digital systems trying to lead with what they do best. OU leads with video, WMU with mobile. Both use these as ways to start their connections with you.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Conference: Big 12
Website: http://www.soonersports.com
Bid: At-Large
Breaking Down Oklahoma: The Sooners lead with video, bringing us one of the deepest video vaults, here. This sets the tone. Then they follow up with a strong blog and Coach Capel on Twitter for your daily connection fix.
Bid: At-Large
Breaking Down Western Michigan: The Broncos lead with mobile. I've been really impressed with their thinking, as they find a way to use an app for a purpose -- to take over your clock. Don't worry, it still works as a clock, but it also delivers WMU branding and the latest news + scores. Get it for yourself, here.
3-Marquette vs 14- Vermont
Marquette goes with deep, emotional content built on top of a system of blogs and social -- giving you the right content and easy ways to share it. Vermont won the MAAC by also being a leader in social, with the NCAA's best Flickr presence.
Marquette
Conference: Big East
Bid: Automatic, Big East Champ
Breaking Down Marquette: This is one of the few teams I've found that I'd say actually leads with content. Marquette created a digital program, "Revealed" that gives us a behind-the-scenes look into Marquette basketball. As you can see here, these webisodes give you a look into the players, coaches, and most importantly team culture... and that's something few tap into in as strong a way.
Vermont
Conference: MAAC
Website: http://www.uvmathletics.com
Bid: Automatic, MAAC Champ
Breaking Down Vermont: The MAAC Champs are one of the best on Flickr, even finding a cool way to give you a campus tour via Flickr photos. As you will find, by creating your own photo gallery, you tap into emotion that comes from creating personal albums and sharing them... And, speaking of images, wow what a mustache that is in the image below.
6- Baylor vs 11- Cal-State Fullerton
Intriguing matchup from a program that leads with athletics and a program that leads by thinking beyond athletics. The beauty in this matchup is simply the contrast in style.
Bid: At-Large
Breaking Down Baylor: Baylor brings a great example of a fantasticly branded experience set on top of a need to build for the future. The content you'll find below is dead-on: Coach Drew, success in the league and at the next level, and impressive facilities. But you'll also find a prominent callout to last year's team... signaling a need to build this in a way that we can always hype this year's team!
Bid: Automatic, Big West Champ
Breaking Down Cal State Fullerton: The Titans look beyond basketball, and even beyond sport, in creating a video series called "Everyday Champions." This looks at the impact former student-athletes have had in the world, and how their time on campus shaped them. It scales across sports and builds an identity for the programs. Great stuff, here.
7- Illinois State vs 10- Buffalo
Two programs with recruiting sites you might not have expected... Illinois State goes deeper into a basketball experience while Buffalo makes it easier to browse cross-sport and into academics. Which style is more effective? (Or impactful?)
Bid: Automatic, MVC Champ
Breaking Down Illinois State: The Redbirds won the MVC by delivering a digital experience that goes deep into life as an athlete -- and focusing it on what matters the most to a current athlete: connection to coaches, the gear you get, and how coaches will help get you ready to maximize your talent. Hit the basketball experience, here,
Bid: At-Large
Breaking Down Buffalo: The Become a Bull website is aspirational in title, placed inside the Recruits menu, and filled with a nice mix of academics + athetics, across all teams. Check for yourself, here.
2- Illinois vs 15- Oakland
Are we on a crash course for an Illinois-Illinois State matchup? Illinois brings one of the highest levels of social thinking I found, leading them to the Big Ten title. Oakland looks back and leads by highlighting success of their program.
Bid: Automatic, Big Ten Champ
Breaking Down Illinois: The Illini lead with access like few others - delivering player interviews on a regular cadence after practices or games (like this one). They give us access via their site, and also go deep on Facebook with easy ways to Like their men's program, right from the men's basketball home page (yes, you don't even have to actually visit their Facebook page to do it!). Finally, check out how current NBA athletes talk about Coach Weber. Powerful stuff, here.
Bid: Automatic, Summit Champ
Breaking Down Oakland: The Summit League champs did it by leveraging their history. As you'll see here, Oakland makes you feel like hitting the NCAAs is expected and a part of their DNA. If you want to win, that makes a statement.
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