Welcome to the All-New JBUathletics.com
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (August 19, 2013) -- For the past three months, the Office of Sports Information has been building up towards the launch of a new era in Golden Eagle athletics, the department's first-ever intercollegiate athletics-specific website, JBUathletics.com.
Launched in partnership with Streamline Technologies in the early morning hours of Aug. 19, the website will provide fans a new experience and engagement with the John Brown athletics programs, players, coaches and staff.
"It was our goal to create a website that not only keeps fans informed on all the great things John Brown University and its athletes are doing," said Director of Sports Information Nicholas Robinson, "but also to offer fans a way to be engaged and involved in the latest happenings all while learning about the vast history of Golden Eagle athletics.
Fans are now able to access schedules, rosters, coaching information and statistics in a unified interface. Game previews, post-game press releases, live stats and live broadcasts are easily accessible from the homepage or by navigating to a specific sport's schedule page from the main menu.
"One of the main goals for the website was to make information as easily accessible for fans as possible," added Robinson. "Our hope is that information is never more than three clicks away, whether it be a team's schedule, information on a staff member or the history of one of JBU's great facilities."
Another focal point of the new JBUathletics.com is the social media integration branded as the #goJBU Social Media Network. Currently, the Golden Eagles have a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vimeo, offering fans, players and parents a way to engage with the athletic community through the social medium of their choice.
Since the fall of 2012, the number of official Facebook page likes has increased over 2,000 percent, jumping from just 400 to eclipsing the 1,900 mark in August of 2013. The official Twitter feed has experienced a doubling from 300 followers to over 630 and in only its first two months, the official Instagram account has received over 110 followers. Additionally, the creation of the official Golden Eagle hashtag, #goJBU, has sparked tremendous success across all social media platforms as now Facebook, Twitter and Instagram support hashtags.
"I'm really impressed by the way the Golden Eagle community has embraced our social media effort," admitted Robinson. "They've made it clear they want to be engaged and informed by all of our successes at John Brown and we'll continue to meet those needs and drive content."
During the 2012-13 men's basketball season, the efforts of Golden Eagle fans on facebook and twitter, via voting on fan polls and using the official JBU hashtag, vaulted John Brown into two NAIA National Game of the Week honors as the Golden Eagles split a pair of games with Sooner Athletic Conference foe, Oklahoma Baptist.
In an effort to highlight the Golden Eagles' commitment to the NAIA's Champions of Character program, a section at the bottom of the homepage has been dedicated to five student-athletes that exemplify the traits of integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership. Students profiled will continue to change as each year progresses.
The 2013-14 athletic season will mark another major change to the way fans follow the Golden Eagles as the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has partnered with StatBroadcast to offer a new and aesthetically appealing way to follow John Brown on gameday. The primarily NCAA stats provider has worked with the Office of Sports Information for the entirety of the summer, allowing John Brown to become their first NAIA client that utilizes the DakStats scoring programs.
"I couldn't be more pleased with how StatBroadcast will allow Golden Eagle fans to follow along this season, point-by-point," Robinson said. "The user interface is second to none and allows fans to filter plays, follow a specific athlete and print box scores at any point of the contest. It really is a revolutionary method to follow college athletics, especially at the NAIA level."
A new rotating scoreboard is featured at the bottom of each page which allows for easy access in addition to quick links that will send fans to the information they need. Facility pages have also been updated to reflect the vast history of Golden Eagle athletics as have the biographies of each coach and staff member.
"Streamline Technologies has been a major asset in our quest to revamp the execution of the Golden Eagle brand," noted Robinson. "It's my sincere hope that the changes are embraced by fans around the world and that this will only encourage their continued support of John Brown, its athletic teams and the student-athletes that work so hard to represent JBU each day."
Note: We ask for your continued patience as we look to create and add to areas of the website. Any concerns or additional information should be directed to Nicholas Robinson, director of sports information.
