Jesuit Basketball Spotlight Program Prepares for Upcoming 2009-2010 Season

Return to News and Initiatives > Press Releases

Have you heard about the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight (JBS)?

The Jesuit Basketball Spotlight is a nationwide effort to capitalize on basketball games between Jesuit schools and, through those games, bring greater positive awareness and exposure to Jesuit education and its shared mission. This project was developed by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) in response to member institutions wanting to spread the word about Jesuit higher education through basketball games (men’s and women’s) played between Jesuit opponents.

More than a quarter-million college basketball spectators heard messages of Jesuit educational excellence as part of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight (JBS) pilot project over the 2008-09 season. The program’s pilot year was “a great success,” according to Jesuit Fr. Charles Currie, SJ, president of the AJCU.

Moving into its second year, the JBS project will continue to promote messages that speak to the 500-year Jesuit tradition of academic excellence and a Catholic faith that does justice.

Last year's inaugural season (2008-09) saw the following occur:

A professional official logo was created
A JBS Website was created as a resource headquarters for employees engaged in producing the JBS at their school (www.ajcunet.edu/jesuitbasketball)
Thirty-second messages of Jesuit mission and identity were read during timeouts over arena public address systems during games featuring Jesuit opponents
Messages were read during radio and television game coverage
Arena scoreboards carried JBS notices and logos
Mentions were made in game-preview media notes, and
Notices were published in public game programs.

First-Year Results

In total, the following statistics tell of the success of the inaugural Jesuit Basketball Spotlight:
Nationwide, approximately 100 games featured Jesuit opponents, not including postseason matches
At least 15 national television mentions were made
More than 250,000 in-arena spectators were addressed by the messages; including radio and television audiences would certainly add hundreds of thousands more
At least 60 in-game announcements were made over arena public address systems
24 of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities participated; while all schools feature men’s and women’s basketball teams, the non-participating schools had no scheduled matches between Jesuit opponents.

Year Two

For the upcoming 2009-2010 college basketball season, the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight returns with last season’s successful tools -- in-arena announcements, press and game notes, scoreboard notices, radio and television mentions, and special presentations – as a foundation. In addition, elements will be added:
Large-format decals for floor placement during select games with high TV exposure
Added emphasis on on-air mentions
Increased participation amongst the schools’ broad university-level marketing efforts (in addition to their athletic marketing efforts)
Research toward telling the historic story of Jesuit basketball, including a litany of legendary rivalries, games, honors and top-notch Jesuit athletes

We hope Jesuit campuses will support JBS in the coming months. We look forward to a great 2009-2010 season!

Questions or input about JBS? Please contact the AJCU office at 202-862-9893.