Louisville basketball: What we learned from Twitter Lockdown 2019

For the second year in a row, Louisville basketball locked their Twitter account using it as a way to engage with fans in a very unique way. We provide some key takeaways from Thursday’s lockdown.

There’s nothing fun about summer sports. Any news, even if it holds no merit is news because there’s literally nothing going on. Since arriving on campus last season, Chris Mack has been working to change that for Louisville basketball fans.

Social media was irrelevant to the previous regime, as being buttoned up and serious all the time was key and not worrying about engagement and fan excitement. With a brilliant marketing and activation team behind the scenes, it was clear that they weren’t being utilized properly.

But slowly in 2018, we got to see some incredible ideas come to light, especially when it came to sparking excitement among fans. One of them was Louisville Live, which obviously was a groundbreaking event, the other being the Twitter Lockdown, where the social media accounts for the basketball program were locked down and only fans following them could see the content being released.

Giveaways, new announcements, and more were apart of it last year and it was a huge hit with the fans.

In year two, the marketing staff and basketball program looked to take it to another level and man did they do just that.

Here are our takeaways from the Twitter lockdown.

Taylor Rooks of Turner Sports will host Louisville Live 2019

Louisville Live is back for the second year and my guess is that the Louisville athletic department and marketing team know that they have to take this event to another level, especially considering the expectations surrounding the program in 2019.

With multiple high-profile recruits already on board for official visits, Louisville made the first big announcement since the date was released.

Taylor Rooks of Turner Sports, who works mostly for Bleacher Report but has done sideline reporting for TNT and NBA TV will be the host/emcee for the evening. Rooks is a rising star in the sports media and entertainment world, and there is no doubt that she will add an extra element of flare to the event.

Louisville’s full non-conference schedule is out

We’ve been getting pieces of the non-conference schedule over the last few months slowly but surely, but today the Louisville basketball program used the Twitter lockdown as a way to release the full schedule with dates.

• November 10th – Youngstown State
• November 13th – Indiana State
• November 17th – North Carolina Central
• November 20th – USC Upstate
• November 24th – Akron
• November 29th – Western Kentucky (Nashville)
• December 3rd – Michigan (ACC/Big Ten Challenge)
• December 10th – Texas Tech (Jimmy V Classic – New York)
• December 14th – Eastern Kentucky
• December 18th – Miami (OH)
• December 28th – Kentucky

We knew about Michigan, Texas Tech, and Kentucky which headline the schedule, as well as Western Kentucky, but we now know the smaller schools that Louisville will face this fall. The Cards will go head-to-head with three schools for the first time in program history including Youngstown State, North Carolina Central, and USC Upstate.

Out of the non-power five schools (and WKU), the toughest game for the Cards out of conference will without question be Indiana State. The Sycamores took care of business against IU last season and return two capable scorers in Tyreke Key and Jordan Barnes.

Another interesting thing that came out of the schedule release was the dates of the Texas Tech and Michigan matchups. We knew the Jimmy V classic typically takes place early in December, as does the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, but getting those two exactly a week apart could be very challenging, especially with travel involved.

Finally, all eyes are on Kentucky, the only true road game in non-conference play for the Cards. With Louisville having their best shot at a win since they pulled off the victory three years ago, having time to prepare will be crucial.

After three games in eight days will be tough, but the Cards will get 10 days in between the matchup with the Redhawks of Miami of Ohio and Kentucky. That will give MAck plenty of time to the gameplan, while giving the team ample time to recover and be ready to go on the 28th.

Louisville has the best and most creative design and marketing teams in America

As a marketer who works in a full-service advertising agency in Louisville, I am often blown away by the simplicity and lack of creativity from some of the top athletic programs across the country who have access to hundreds of thousands of dollars and some of the top talent in their respective field working for them.

In this day and age, you have to constantly be thinking about the next best way to engage with your fans, especially with the use of social media.

You don’t need me to tell you that Louisville and the entire athletic department & creative team are incredible. The work they do is groundbreaking and should be replicated by programs across the country.

The way they got today started was incredible, maybe even some of their best work. Something as simple as creating a background for fans, but personalizing it, was brilliant when wanting to get said fans involved throughout the day.

We agree with Louisville basketball. We are the number one fansite covering the Cards.

They didn’t end there obviously. The creativity with engagement throughout the day giving away tickets to games, giving away collectibles, was second to none and for eight hours fans were glued to their Twitter account just waiting for the next chance to get involved.

The new-look Louisville basketball program knows what they are doing, and man is it fun and a nice change of pace from the past. Today was a blast, and just like you, I engaged with the Cards all day long.

We can now begin looking forward to Louisville Live which will take place in just a few short weeks.

I can’t wait for Louisville basketball!