Elon athletics has launched its new Web site, www.elonphoenix.com, providing Phoenix fans with online resources that are the equal of the nation's top Division I programs. Details...
Get scores and more on www.elonphoenix.com
When Elon athletics director Dave Blank challenged his staff to redesign the Phoenix Web site, the goal wasn’t just to be the best in the conference.
“We wanted to have the best NCAA Division I site in the country,” Blank says. “So we decided not to simply outsource the project to a company that would design a Web site that looks like all the others. We said with the talented staff at Elon, we could a better job ourselves.”
The result should please any fan of Elon athletics, from the casual observer to the most ardent Phoenix Phanatic. The new site at www.elonphoenix.com showcases student-athletes, with more feature stories and photos, audio and video clips, up-to-the-minute game results and rich statistics on every competition.
“Web sites are now the main source of information for fans of college sports,” says Trip Durham, associate athletics director for marketing, promotions and home game management. “We’re in competition with top college programs, as well as professional sports, for the fans’ attention. This new Web site puts us on par with other online sports resources, and showcases the quality of the Phoenix athletic programs.”
Durham coordinated efforts to create the new site, bringing together coaches, athletics staff and student athletes to help envision what a great sports Web site should include. He then worked with a team of graphic designers, Web page creators and photographers from the University Relations office, along with programmers from the Elon Web technologies staff. The project took about six months.
Megan Donald of the sports information staff will direct content on the site, with input from the entire athletics team.
Visitors to the new home page will find four rotating top stories with large photos. An innovative tool called Game Central will allow fans to quickly access the upcoming schedule and competition results for any of the 16 men’s and women’s sports. There is a corner of the page dedicated to online videos and another box for links to radio broadcasts and an audio archive. The Freeze Frame photo gallery and Phoenix Facilities Panoramics allow fans to access high-quality images of students in competition, as well as the various sports venues. The home page also includes a Shout Out section for student awards and an online Phan Poll, giving visitors a chance to voice their opinions.
Each sport has its own custom home page, where fans can find comprehensive information about the teams, individual athletes and coaches and competition statistics. Fans will find information on parking and game-day arrangements, and will be able to buy tickets and Phoenix gear via an online store. The site also includes custom information for members of the Phoenix Club and recruits.
“This site is a big asset as we reach out to friends of Elon athletics and talented young athletes and encourage them to learn more about Elon and the quality of our programs,” Durham says. “We’re confident they’ll be impressed with what they see on the Web. It’s a great source of information and will be a point of pride for our fans.”
Elon staff members who played key roles in developing the site include University Relations staff members Christopher Eyl (graphic design), David Morton (page implementation), Jerome Sturm (photography) and Dan Anderson (site concept and organization); Web technologies staff members J.R. Shortall (programming), Brian Baute (project management), Brandon Cole (programming) and Greg Colby (server configuration); and athletics staff members Dave Blank (site concept), Trip Durham (project coordination), Matt Eviston (content creation), Chris Rash (content creation) and Megan Donald (content creation).