The AU Athletics Department launched its new Web site on Tuesday, revamping the site's capabilities and formally introducing the school's new athletic logo.
The new Web site, which features a sharper design and more interactive multimedia options than the old site, was designed in an effort to draw more attention to the university's sports teams and to allow students to actively get involved in AU's athletic scene.
"[The site] is user-friendly for our fans and it'll be changing frequently as to continue to drive our students and fans to the site," said David Bierwirth, the athletics department's director of marketing. "It will make it more attractive to sponsors and continue to raise the profile of AU athletics."
The decision to update the Web site was approved last May, when the athletic department partnered with designers at College Sports TV (CSTV) to create a custom-built site for AU. The result is an interactive site with easier navigation and multimedia options which include the ability to get live scores on phones and weekly e-mail newsletters. The site also will also include "EagleVision All-Access," which will offer pay-per-view video access to all women's volleyball and men's and women's basketball games.
The site will also include streaming video content, most of which will be produced by AU students and updated at least twice a week.
"The video content has given students more of an opportunity to get experience producing video content and appearing on-camera," said Anthony Wilson, the assistant athletic communications director. "By the time we're done, we'll have anywhere between 10 and 20 students who have played a major role in the development and content of the site."
The new site also showcases the athletic department's new logo, which was redesigned in conjunction with both the launch of the new Web site and a deal the school signed with Nike last year to make AU Athletics apparel. The new logo appears both on the site and on all of the fall sports teams' new uniforms.
"Athletics is a unique department on campus because of how highly visible it is," said Bierwirth. "We really wanted to continue to incorporate the traditional 'AU' part of the logo, but with the addition of the banner that says 'American'. It says this is who we are, we're proud of who we are."
Bierwirth adds that the new logo is meant to avoid confusion outside of D.C., where the old logo was often confused with other organizations. The eagle logo was also redesigned, featuring a more athletic-looking feel. The department hopes that the new logos will help give athletics a new identity.
"The ultimate goal for us is for someone to look at a uniform, a Web site, a publication, and say, 'That's American University', and know it immediately," said Wilson.
