Athletic Director Dave King said emuroyals.com is more than just a redesign, as it will help EMU staff do their job more effectively.
“We are really excited about the possibilities this new website will bring us in telling the EMU athletic story, which goes well beyond the scores and statistics,” he said. “Athletic websites need to be active, interactive, inviting and ‘busy’ in order to attract the younger audiences to learn more about the great people and programs here at EMU.”
Presto Sports hosts the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and a majority of ODAC members’ websites. The Continental Volleyball Conference, which the men’s volleyball program joins this year, also plans to launch its initial website through Presto.
Sports Information Director James De Boer said that connectedness will be a huge benefit to Royals fans and also ease his workload.
“We are now able to offer instant access to up-to-date ODAC standings right on the EMU website,” explained De Boer. “And when our teams play a road contest at a Presto school, our website will also give viewers quick access to live stats, in-game scoring updates and final scores. Our fans should really appreciate how streamlined all the information is.”
Viewers will also quickly notice the much larger, horizontal images featured on articles, along with the rotator of news headlines common to many athletic websites.
Another new aspect of emuroyals.com is a “Featured Athlete” section located on the home page. Although features were released occasionally on the previous athletics website, this designated area will be updated more frequently as well as be a centralized location to find features.
“There are so many interesting and inspiring stories to be told each year,” said De Boer. “What really sets EMU apart from other institutions is our individual student-athletes, and I’m excited to tell their stories.”
Interactive statistics are another draw of the new site. Fans will now be able to open a team’s season stats and rearrange them simply by clicking on the desired category. It will also be much easier to view an individual player’s profile, game log and split stats.
Since its inception, the athletics website had been hosted by Eastern Mennonite. But as technology advanced and demands increased, a group decision was made find a host specializing in athletics.
“While I have been pleased with the technical support we have received in the Athletic Department from the Information Systems Department, moving our website to Presto Sports will be a win-win situation for both of us,” said King. “Their support in making this move, along with the Marketing Department’s design work, has been greatly appreciated.”
The Loyal Royals, EMU’s athletic booster club, is sponsoring the cost of the new website, which has a three-year commitment.
“Everyone at EMU is quite excited about the site,” De Boer said. “From its flashier look to its features, both physical and time-saving, it has a lot to offer both directly and indirectly. I hope Royals fans will take the time to explore emuroyals.com and trust they will enjoy it as much in using it as we did in creating it.”