The 2011 Digital NCAA Basketball Tourney: The First Four

Today is the first of our days unveiling matchups in this year's Digital NCAA Tourney. We'll start by breaking down the 4 play-in games for the tourney. Then we'll go region-by-region breaking down the field.

First, a reminder. 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.

Enjoy!

16-Hampton vs. 16-Arkansas Pine Bluff
This is a matchup of two conference champions, both of which lead by offering a clean design and a focus on getting you where they want to get you.

16-Hampton
Conference: MEAC
Website: http://www.hamptonpirates.com

How they got here: Won the MEAC's Automatic Bid by leveraging a clean design to connect directly with recruits. They hit you with a prominent "Join the Team. Get Recruited Here" call to action right from the comforts of the home page.



16-Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Conference: SWAC
Website: http://www.uapblionsroar.com

How they got here: Won the SWAC's Automatic Bid by pairing a clean design with a dynamic calendar that makes it pretty obvious when the action is happening.





16-South Carolina Upstate vs. 16- Liberty
Two teams that won their conferences show up in a 16-seed First Four game. That shows you just how tough this year's field is! Both squads find a way to add excitement around gametime, and they come at it from an entirely different standpoint.

16-South Carolina Upstate
Conference: Atlantic Sun
Website: http://www.upstatespartans.com

How they got here: Winner of the Atlantic Sun Conference's Bid. You have to dig for it, but the Spartans hit you with some great content from Coach Eddie Payne's website. Chief among the energy of this site is Traveling with the Spartans, a place where you can actually see what the team sees when they travel.



16-Liberty
Conference: Big South
Website: http://www.libertyflames.com

How they got here: Winner of the Big South's Automatic Bid. The Flames offer up an easy reminder of when the next game is, from a prominent countdown clock off the home page. They also pack together an athletics department social media widget!




15-Butler vs. 15-Indiana
This is one of those matchups I wish the NCAA Selection committee would bring out more often -- regional rivalries that don't get played in the regular season.

15-Butler
Conference: Horizon
Website: http://www.butlersports.com

How they got here: At-Large Bid. Strong play in the social media realm, as Butler does a strong job bringing their personality out across Facebook & Twitter.



15-Indiana
Conference: Big Ten
Website: http://www.iuhoosiers.cstv.com

How they got here: At-Large Bid. Indiana delivers good content, albeit tough to find inside a heavy recruiting virtual guide.





14 George Washington vs. 14-Middle Tennessee State
This matchup tells you a bit about the collective strength of the A10 and Sun Belt Conferences... or at least it tells you they have multiple bids.

14-George Washington
Conference: Atlantic 10
Website: http://www.gwsports.com

How they got here: At Large. Coach Hobbs gets you exactly what you need to understand once you hit his site -- what's the style of play? what's your philosophy? The challenge is that you have to get here to get this information.




14- Middle Tennessee State
Conference: Sun Belt
Website: http://www.goblueraiders.com

How they got here: At Large. The Blue Raiders give you easy, elegant access to their social media world. It's clean and it's clear where they want you to go.





Here's the bracket, updated.

Come back tomorrow as we dive into the first of our 4 regions...

As always, you can follow me on Facebook (here) or Twitter (I'm @pawlow34)

Andy

NCAA Basketball Marketing: What We Could Learn from #16 Arkansas Pine Bluff

We're in search of inspiration- things that all of us can take and apply into our worlds. Then we will apply a "Plus One" method to make each inspiring thing even better. Thus far, we've looked at top seeded Duke, #2Villanova, #3 Baylor, #4 Purdue, #5 Texas A&M, #6 Notre Dame, #7Richmond, #8 California, #9 Lousiville, #10 Saint Mary's, #11 Old Dominion, #12 Utah State, #13 Siena, #14 Sam Houston State, and #15 Robert Morris.

On to the final stop in the South. Let's go!

South Region #16 Seed Arkansas Pine Bluff: What's Inspiring about Arkansas Pine Bluff Marketing? (link here)

1. The Calendar

You can see this from the athletics department home page, above, and I'll zoom in below. Sometimes the best things in marketing are the simplest. A calendar? Yes, take a peak at the image and realize that, at a glance, you can quickly see what is coming up. And if you think of one of the biggest things a college website can do is to drive fans to games. This enables it!

Plus One: Take this to your calendar. Like we saw with the Dallas Mavericks, here, there is an opportunity for fans to download the Pine Bluff schedule to their calendar. That way you don't have to go to the site to find out when games are happening -- just look at your own calendar!

2. Pictures of Recruits

Another simple and powerful thing. Pine Bluff gives us their new recruits in visuals and words right from the website. I love this, as it mimics what we see when a player is drafted into the Pros and announced at his new team. It elevates the act of choosing to be a Golden Lion, and thus makes it a more aspirational move for a prospect. Well done!

Plus One: Could we get to the point where recruits are actually announced as new members of the squad on the site? Offer a question/answer session with fans or students here!

3. Golden Girls

Linked here, the Golden Eagles offer a look into their dance squad right from the comforts of the site. As we saw in the NBA, the dance squad played a big deal in marketing every team. And, as a recruit, elevating the dance squad reminds them that they are the center of the universe on campus. Not many college programs are doing this -- and it's a smart step!

Plus One: Connect the Golden Girls to the hoops team. This can be done by showcasing video or photo galleries of the dance squad during games. It may not sound complicated, but this can create a big impact in the mind of a recruit -- let's remind them of the destination that a Golden Lion game is for the community!

What's next?

We'll be back Wednesday with a look at the 10 Best Digital Features across this South Region. Trust me you'll want to check it out!

As always, you can follow along on Twitter - I'm @pawlow34.