How the University of Arkansas Razorbacks are Winning On and Off the Court

Today we announced that the University of Arkansas Athletics program chose uStudio’s interactive video platform to power the Razorbacks Sports Network. What you won’t find in the press release, and what I’m most excited to share, is just how bold and innovative the Razorback Athletics team is in their pursuit of the very best digital experiences for their fans.

In January, I had the opportunity to visit Fayetteville, where the Razorbacks Athletics program is in the midst of a seminal moment in their department’s history. Seeking to free themselves from the constraints of “old world media content delivery,” the department made the courageous decision last year to go it alone, rebuilding their digital presence from scratch, with the aspiration that they could deliver higher quality, more engaging fan experiences if they could take control of and optimize their digital ecosystem. They did. And as a result, they are producing more and better video content than ever before, the impact which can be felt across their entire business – from increased licensing and sponsorship revenue, to major gains in fan engagement and loyalty.

It’s an impressive story on paper, but what I wanted to know was how: How does an athletics program that plays in a conference as competitive as the SEC manage to distinguish itself to its fans, within the conference, and across NCAA sports? I needed details. I couldn’t wait to get to Arkansas to see the team and hear their story. What I observed on my trip did not disappoint — something very special is going on in Fayetteville.

Before I go any further, it’s important to disclose that I’m a born-and-raised Alabama gal and an LSU alumna, so I already have plenty of SEC affinity running through my veins. But that can also be a liability; somewhere deep inside, my competitive spirit was quietly questioning just how special the Razorback program could be. Would it really be that different from the others? But my competitive voice was quelled the moment I checked into my hotel and the front desk clerk hollered “Woo Pig Sooie!” at me. There was something different about Fayetteville. You could just feel it.

My trip was timed to coincide with a high-profile men’s basketball game in which the #5-ranked Texas A&M Aggies (17-3) were expected to continue their long winning streak and handily beat the Razorbacks (10-10). When I hit the basketball court that first night with the other media denizens, hopes were high, but expectations were tempered. This would be a hard game, maybe their hardest yet.

However, from the opening tip-off, the Arkansas team made one thing clear: the Razorbacks took their #Neveryield motto seriously. I saw players who were all heart, fighting for every point, staying focused, refusing to be rattled by the lightning speed of the Aggies offense, strategically breaking its rhythm with smart, steady game play. In the end, the expert coaching of Mike Anderson and the individual talents of the Arkansas bench combined for a superlative victory over Texas A&M.

Now if you’ve been around sports and sports fans for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed that a team’s behavior on the court will often spill over into its fan base. When a team behaves in a sportsmanlike way, its fans are often sportsmanlike themselves; when a team is overly hard-hitting, their fans may be a bit rougher than the norm.  After the exemplary game play I observed that first night, I had my first real inkling of the kind of esprits de corps I was likely to find among the Athletics staff the following day. Would they be fearless, strategic team players who weren’t afraid of a challenge and lived by the #Neveryield motto? I had a sneaking suspicion the answer was yes.

The next day, I sat down with several members of the leadership team spanning licensing, revenue generation, broadcast services, production, and digital marketing. I also sat down with Chris Freet, who as Senior Associate Athletic Director, oversees all externally-facing activities. It then became clear that the team off the court mirrored the magic I had observed on the court. The Razorback staff was nothing if not united, bold in their vision, smart and strategic in how they planned to implement that vision, and fully committed at every level of the organization to do what it takes to win. Talk about #Neveryield.

The team recounted how, when faced with the daunting task of completely rethinking fan engagement, they chose to buck the establishment and build their own web presence from scratch. They invested heavily in the most cutting-edge creation and distribution infrastructure including partnerships with entities such as ESPN’s SEC Network and our own company, uStudio, whose video platform for business allows lightning fast distribution and customizable interactive video players to feed content-hungry fans. In just four short years, the department had evolved from “ four guys with a truck and a TriCaster doing highlights videos” to an award-winning media operation that pushes more than 100 live broadcasts and 1000 rich video features per year to a growing fan base on a variety of digital platforms.

Their bold vision, strong leadership, teamwork, and commitment had paid off. Just in the last year, since relaunching arkansasrazorbacks.com in partnership with uStudio and WMT, website visits are up 46%; time on site is up 30%; and the number of video views is up 33%. In addition, licensing revenues are up 10% over the first 6 months of this fiscal year, corporate sponsorship has been steadily increasing, and more and more are people becoming interested in website advertising. It’s what Chris Freet described to me as “arguably the best year competitively in the athletic department’s history.”

But perhaps the most telling sign of good things to come was not the spikes in business metrics. Instead, it was the universal acknowledgement that team dynamics were at an all-time high. Instead of working in siloed departments, the production, marketing and communications teams had embraced a set of common goals that, enabled by technologies like uStudio, could finally be achieved.  They were communicating better than ever; they were sharing ideas, brainstorming, and thinking more creatively. They were challenging each other to be the best, take risks, and ultimately, deliver better experiences to fans. As Michelle Glover told me, “We’re going to hopefully find new and exciting ways to give Razorback fans all of the video content they could ever want.”

So, how does a NCAA Division 1 Athletics program distinguish itself amidst such fierce competition? They dream. They dare. They think. They commit. And they #Neveryield.