The billboards that appeared with a larger-than-life image of Josh Schertz the week after he was hired at St. 不良研究所导航网址 University were a sort of introduction for people who might not recognize the Billikens鈥 new coach.
Despite his emergence in the college basketball coaching world, putting a name with the face was a starting point for the casual sports fan.
Meanwhile, there was fast-growing evidence that Schertz鈥檚 arrival was having an impact on a larger scale 鈥 something SLU has not experienced for years within its basketball program.
Interested season-ticket buyers emerged. Potential corporate sponsors became more curious. Social media exploded with eyes on SLU content.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been a lot of momentum since naming Josh (as the new men鈥檚 basketball coach),鈥 athletics director Chris May said. 鈥淲e have discussed how we can market to take advantage of the moment. We gained exposure. It has exceeded expectations, and what Josh was able to do at Indiana State with his vision for the type of basketball to be played and ability to grow community plays into it.鈥
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SLU social media accounts surpassed more than 8 million impressions 鈥 the number of times content was seen 鈥 in the month after Schertz was introduced during a time of year when they typically would draw fewer than 1 million.
Maybe most telling has been the surge in season-ticket sales. As of the end of last week, ticket manager John Margelewski said nearly 300 new season tickets had been sold. Spikes have come with Schertz鈥檚 hiring and each new player who has been signed.
The early projection is that SLU will sell four times as many new season tickets as last year. That is anticipated to create a 25% increase in overall season ticket sales. Specific numbers were not provided.
鈥淲e should have a significant increase by October,鈥 May said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e also got people working on the connection with the student body, and we think we鈥檒l have a lot of opportunities to grow that interest.鈥
The announcements of players on the 2024-25 team have also helped, especially with the return of Gibson Jimerson and the addition of former Indiana State players Robbie Avila and Isaiah Swope. However, SLU cannot use them for marketing until they are enrolled.
The buzz created earlier-than-normal conversations between Billiken Sports Properties and corporate partners and the projection that 95% or more of sponsors would be retained for next season, a rate considerably higher than the average year.
Kyle Ingram, the general manager for Billiken Sports Properties, noted that at least 10 new companies have expressed interest.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been a significant bump in new sponsorship interest,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little early in terms of converting excitement into actual dollars, but what鈥檚 not too early is seeing how current partners are reacting. Especially those looking to renew for the long term. It鈥檚 been easier to get people on the phone to talk about (SLU) athletics. The marketplace is taking notice.鈥
Basketball analysts have noticed, and some have reflected the trajectory of the program when discussing next season. At least two national outlets have included the Billikens in their discussion for the preseason top 25 after they were No. 197 in the final NCAA NET rankings.
Schertz already has secured a season-opening game against Santa Clara at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota 鈥 a game that is expected to be carried on national television.
Schertz has put himself in front of the media extensively, and SLU has facilitated engagement with donors. A special event was held at the Champions Center for top-level donors to meet Schertz. The Billiken Victory Fund, a name, image and likeness collective run outside of the university, quickly arranged a meet-and-greet event in hopes of generating contributions.
The university also is working on new merchandising deals, and SLU announced it will soon launch an NIL store.