ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell University Department of Athletics and Physical Education, in conjunction with Internet Consulting Services (ICS), has unveiled a newly redesigned www.CornellBigRed.com web site this afternoon.
Since the previous design was more than four years old, there was little integration with social media and multimedia sites. That has changed in a significant way in the newly designed site. Cornell's YouTube page and its most recent videos can be accessed from the main index page, as well as all of the sport pages. The carousel of main stories also contains an option to "like" Cornell Athletics on Facebook or "follow" @CornellSports on Twitter. Shades of red with grey trim give the site a clean, sophisticated look.
The main page features a rotating carousel of five top stories, while there are tabs to find additional headlines, results and a link to the Big Red store. Next to it is an event calendar with quick links for live stats, audio, video and online ticketing. The main navigation is simplified with seven main headers, with everything from men's and women's sports to multimedia and inside athletics offerings. A second, smaller, revolving carousel on the main index page and the sport pages allows for promotions and advertisements that Cornell Big Red fans will enjoy, highlighting under-the-radar features of the site. Toward the bottom of the page is a telescoping graphic that allows users to find several key features of the site, including Twitter and Facebook pages, as well as photo galleries, live stats, and email and text alerts. Cornell's sponsors align the bottom of the page, as do links to the Big Red's affiliate organizations.
Dated photos have been removed from the sports header pages, while each program can promote its special events or projects through an ad space in each team's banner. Large links under the sport name easily direct users to key links, including schedules, rosters and stats, while other links can be accessed down the righthand column. Users can easily return to the sports page from anywhere by clicking on the team name in the top lefthand corner, or return to the front page of the site by clicking on the growling bear logo at the top of the site.
While integration of the social media and multimedia was a key component of the new design, so was improving staples of the old site. New cameras and infrastucture at competition sites will continue to upgrade Cornell's streaming audio/video service, RedCast. ICS Sidearm Live Stats will also be offered for nearly 100 events during the season, and other upcoming features include virtual media guides and an online, interactive magazine built with the new site in mind.
