BIG EAST Hosts Social & Digital Summit
NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Conference held its first Social and Digital Summit on August 15
th, including representatives from all ten BIG EAST member schools and a notable roster of digital industry experts. The full-day event was held in Manhattan and featured executives from FOX Sports, Facebook & Instagram, MIT, Google, YouTube, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, and the New York Rangers, among others.
The goal of the Social and Digital Summit was to provide BIG EAST schools with insights from industry leaders on the constantly evolving digital landscape and to inspire new ways to identify, connect with and expand their audiences. The Summit comes on the heels of the launch of
BIG EAST Shootaround on August 10
th. The live weekly show focuses on men’s basketball and is distributed exclusively on digital on the FOX Sports Go app, Facebook, and Twitter. It is also available as a podcast through iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher.
“Our schools have compelling stories to tell, especially when it comes to basketball, and our gathering focused on how best to use technology to bring information, special moments, and other content to our fans,” said BIG EAST Chief Marketing Office Ann Wells Crandall. “We look forward to building on the dialogue among our schools and the best practices shared by our guests as we develop our digital strategy for the upcoming year and beyond.”
Panels at the Summit included current students discussing how millennials consume news and member school administrators elaborating on how they use content to drive awareness, build revenue and support recruiting.
(In photo L-R, Bob Carney, V.P., Emerging Media, NBA; Russell Stevens, MIT Media Lab; BIG EAST Chief Marketing Officer Ann Crandall; BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman; Barbara McHugh, V.P., Marketing, MLB; Adam Skollar, Director, Digital, New York Rangers)
The BIG EAST Conference is an association of ten nationally prominent colleges and universities that foster healthy athletic competition, community service and the pursuit of excellence in academic environments. The athletic programs of BIG EAST institutions provide national-caliber participation opportunities for more than 3,727 student-athletes on over 180 men’s and women’s teams in 22 sports. Established in 1979 and headquartered in New York City, the BIG EAST’s members are located in seven of the country’s top 35 largest media markets and include Butler University, Creighton University, DePaul University, Georgetown University, Marquette University, Providence College, St. John’s University, Seton Hall University, Villanova University and Xavier University. For more information, visit
www.bigeast.com.
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