MEAC Best Practices: Hampton Gives You Their Resume

When you want a job, you naturally provide a resume, right? Why? Because it's a log of your accomplishments. It's a representation of how you got where you are now and it's a representation of why you're the right person for the next gig.

Why not do this in recruiting? If you want the next job (of coaching a recruit), why not lay out your strengths. How you have evolved. And thus why you are the right person for the job.

Hampton Basketball does just this.

Let's return to the Hampton Basketball page and revisit Coach Kevin Nickelberry's site, here...

Click on Resume, which takes us here, shown below. Many things interest me here...

1. We get a great look at his values statement: Program Builder, Recruiter, Player Developer, Defensive Specialist. This is right at the top to set our mind.
2. We get a deep look at how Coach Nickelberry has succeeded, in the framework of his values.
3. We get a traditional resume look into how he has evolved as a leader of men.
4. We get a look into his personal life.

There's a lot to learn here. I love the concept of resume. It's why he's the right person for the job. It's why you should care. And it lets you evaluate if you're a good fit.

How could this be better? Personal stories. I'd love to see that same statement: Program Builder, Recruiter, Player Developer, Defensive Specialist reinforced with the stories, rather than just the facts. Give us a look from former or current players (or from his assistants) on how he lives these values. I think that personal touch could really reinforce things -- much like its that personal touch that makes the difference in bringing a resume to life. After all, we always ask people to "walk us through your resume..." Feels like here's a chance to have others help tell that story!

This wraps up MEAC week.

Come back next week as we hit up another conference!

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

MEAC Best Practices: Hampton Lays Out Their Values

What do you really stand for? What are your values?

Every school has these. But not every school or coach lays them out for us to find. Hampton University does this in a very simple and intuitive way that makes an impact.

Hit the Hampton Basketball page and you'll find the callout for Coach Kevin Nickelberry's site, here...

From here, click on "Values" in the top menu. You'll come to a short and well stated list of what is important to Coach Nickelberry, with concrete examples of what he means. These include Program Builder, Philosophy, Recruiting, Academics, Marketing, Fundraising, and Community Involvement.

Here's the visual, I'll add thoughts after.

Let's look into Program Builder. Coach Nickelberry shows how he has done this not just at Hampton, but at his previous stops (Hampton, Clemson, and Holy Cross). It's a theme, not an aberration. Get ready to buy in!

Recruiting. He values the three things above all else (shooting, size, and intelligence).

Philosophy: He sets out to do one thing: win the league. All players will have a role to play, and he will work with them to make it easy for them to understand how they will help Hampton get where they strive to get.

Well said.

How can this be better? Elevate it. The philosophy of Hampton Basketball shouldn't be only found in Coach's site. Make it clear when you hit Hampton Basketball. Then find ways to reinforce it when it happens. (What are the things in season that shows how the plan is working? In the offseason, how are they remaining focused on the common goal?)

Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the MEAC. We'll spend one more day elevating best practices from the conference's 13 member institutions.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

MEAC Best Practices: SCSU and the Parent Factor

Testimonials.

I'm a big fan of them, as they are in fact endorsements for a product (or program) from people who know best. South Carolina State hits us with a great example of this online.

Visit the South Carolina State Basketball page and you'll find a callout to Coach Tim Carter's site (here). From here, you'll note the far right callout ("They Say"), where we will turn our attention...

Clicking in takes us here, to a document of testimonials from fellow coaches but, more importantly, from parents of former student athletes to play under Coach Carter. I love this because it's a big deal - essentially coaches become the defacto parent figures for young adults as they transition from being at home to being in the real world. And to hear what they say has ridiculous potential.

Check this sample:

"Coach Carter never made a promise that he did not keep. He has proven to be a man of his words. Coach Carter has taken great care and personal concern for our son both on and off the court. He is a mentor and has been a great influence in his career decision..."

Powerful - mentor, trustable, honest, personal. Great values and it's powerful to read these!

How could this be better? These are pretty buried. You have to dive deep to find them. And, I think it's an opportunity for SCSU to take parents across all sports and bring them together about how their sons or daughters evolved as leaders and people while at school here. To tell that personal, emotional story can really become powerful if they fully leverage the opportunity in front of them!

Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the MEAC. We'll spend the next 2 days elevating best practices from the conference's 13 member institutions.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

The Mid Eastern Athletic Conference Wants You to Help Them Scale Social

Facebook fans.

How do you encourage the growth of your social presence? There are many ways to do this and today, in the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference, we see one of them: They make it clear that's what they'd like you to do.

What do I mean by this? There's something pretty powerful when one of your friends suggest you like a page. When I get one of those Facebook messages from a close friend, I almost always agree and Like the page they suggest. (Maybe that means I'm susceptible to peer pressure?) It's an old but true adage that the most influential people in our lives are those we trust the most. And if they like something, we probably will too...

Click into the MEAC Facebook page and click on "Invite". That takes you to this tab, shown below...

What you'll see is a visual look at all your Facebook friends who have not liked MEAC Sports... (Yes, I have a lot of friends who haven't)...

And, at the bottom of that page is a box to send an invitation to those who you think might like this. It's easy for you to share your MEAC Love with your friends. Really smart, as any time you make it easy you increase the odds of participation.

How could this be better? Incentive. Why should I forward this to my friends? As you'll see in this promotion from Burger King, they rewarded fans with a free Whopper if they were to remove 10 of their Facebook friends. (It was later removed by Facebook as that's not what they want to see happen to their network) Fans were given an incentive for engaging with their friends. I'd love to see the reverse here. How could you reward fans for spreading this MEAC Love to their friends? Wouldn't it be worth something if I shared this with 10 or 20 of my friends? It grows the reach of the MEAC and it creates real social value for fans.

Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the MEAC. We'll spend the next 3 days elevating best practices from the conference's 13 member institutions.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

The Mid Eastern Athletic Conference Gives You Their Victims

Victories... Individually, they can get lost. But put them together in one spot and you can make a statement. When you are in a low-to-mid major conference, they become a critical piece to your positioning.

Mid Eastern Athletic Conference Week Starts Now!

Hit the MEAC Basketball page and take close notice to the right hand side of the page: "2010-11 Non-Conference Division 1 Wins." Let's dive in...

Clicking in takes you here, shown below. We have a cumulative list of victories, or as I prefer to put it victims of the MEAC. Take a peak...

Here's what I love about this execution:

1. It positions the conference around success (check out all our wins!)
2. It brings the conference together around success (it's not about one team's wins. It's about ALL our wins!)
3. It is simple and intuitive to follow... and easy to add onto!

How could this be better? EMOTION. That's the opportunity here. It starts with calling victories "victims." There's a feeling of connection and domination in that verbiage that I'd love to see. I'd also love to see the story behind the story -- as simple as associating the victory with a single photo. The power of adding imagery to the log of victories is pretty monstrous! And, finally, a single quote - from a coach/player/fan/conference rep. Put it together and you have a united look at how the MEAC wins.

Bottom line is that this is a great idea that I'd love to see developed further.

Come back tomorrow as we continue rolling through a week of best practices in the MEAC.

Don't forget, you can follow along on Facebook (here) or on Twitter: I'm@pawlow34.

Andy

NCAA Tournament Basketball Marketing: What we can learn from #15 Seed Morgan State

We continue our evaluation of this year's NCAA Tournament field, from a marketing point of view. We're in search of inspiration- things that all of us can take and apply into our worlds. And, for fans, of each team, that's a look into what makes you special.

Thus far, we've reviewed top seeded Kentucky, #2 West Virginia, #3 New Mexico, #4Wisconsin, #5 Temple, #6 Marquette, #7 Clemson, #8 Texas, #9 Wake Forest, #10 Missouri, #11Washington, #12 Cornell, #13 Wofford, and #14 Montana.

Let's check out #15 Morgan State.

East #15 Seed Morgan State (Link Here)

What's Inspiring about Morgan State Athletics?

1. A very approachable leader

When you hit the home page, the right hand side greets you with the tout for AD Floyd Kerr. It's bold, yet the image here makes it feel welcoming. This is up there with the West Coast Conference and Commish Jamie Zaninovich, who makes himself very approachable on Twitter, here. I like that style of leadership -- make it obvious to your fans that you are willing to connect with them. (In fact, I'd be wrong to not point out you can follow me on Twitter, here!)

But back to this.

You can click in and, in the traditional/non-Twitter sense, just post a question for the AD.

When I clicked in, you'll see the wall of questions. Which to me segways nicely into the question, "How could this be better?" Simply put, we need more questions. If you aren't getting any, perhaps you should take questions you get in other venues (Facebook, Twitter, phone, email, or in person) and post them here. I think there's a certain degree of value in having the dialogue from the leader front and center. Tell us what's on your mind -- it'll only connect us more deeply to you.

2. Strength Training, in words

We all know that most freshmen don't come into college with NBA ready bodies. And, especially at the mid-to-low major, your strength & conditioning coach is going to prove critical to you hitting your athletic potential.

Morgan State does this by developing a deep content base including the philosophy of their staff as it relates to overall strength training, diet, and development. Check the image below.

So how could this get better? I'd love to see this broken apart by sport. I'd love to hear from student athletes on how they got better. I'd love to see pictures or video of the facility and players at work. Essentially build upon what you have and make it more personalized to the prospective student athlete!

3. Blogging with Boze!

This is just plain ridiculous. I was greeted with this beautiful button on the Morgan State basketball page.

Clicking on it takes you here, to Coach Bozeman's blog (shown below). It is one of the best blogs I've come across, period. Bold statement. Yes. But check this sample, here:

"I tell you what....there is nothing like a packed arena, gym, play ground or court during a basketball game! If that doesn't get your juices flowing you need a transplant! Well all that to say that our game at Coppin State last night was a great college basketball atmosphere! The place was packed, the band was jammin and the hecklers were in full force. As i was walking in the game, i didn't come over with the team, i was standing behind some fans who were ripping da bears up and saying that "yeah they beat us last year but we got them in the tournament"...yeah...i was right there but i didn't say anything and they didn't know who i was either. Funny huh? So needless to say I'm walking into the locker room grabbing my side from that body blow i got comin in. Jump ball baby! C'on...i hate the time before the game! That waitin around kills me...i wish we could walk into the arena and jump it up right off da muscle! That's a B more term ya'll chill wit the confused look! :) lol"

Wow. That is as authentic as it comes. Personal, well written, funny, so fantastic. I felt more connected to Coach from just reading that.

How could this be better? Well for some reason this stopped. Nothing new was posted after March 6, 2009. I know blogging is hard work. Sometimes I wonder if I can keep up my own pace with this site. But wow, he stepped away for some reason. So, my take is to bring him back -- be it via blog, Twitter, or something else. And then hype it, because you need to show off your strengths!

Now he did recently start on Twitter, here. I'm follower #8 (which I wish gave me more status!), but that will no doubt grow. Hopefully Morgan State will hype what he's doing!

That's it. One more team in the East region, coming at you tomorrow.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter if you dig this stuff, here.

Andy