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Welcome to this week’s edition of The Baseline!

Every Wednesday at 9:36 AM EST, I break down the blueprint for basketball culture, covering industry insights, marketing strategies, and creator tools and resources.

Let’s get started…

CREATOR BLUEPRINT

This creator just did something no one else has ever done in college basketball. 

Without spending a single dollar, his media brand's logo became the official jersey patch sponsor of a Horizon League men's basketball team.

But not just any team, as Robert Morris University is a mid-major powerhouse with 10 conference championships and NCAA Tournament bids.

But the real partnership story is much bigger than a logo patch.

This is a first-of-its-kind partnership between Robert Morris Men’s Basketball and creator Cullen Honohan’s basketball media brand, All Hail Bball.

All Hail Bball will appear on the team’s jerseys while also becoming an embedded media and content partner for the program.

While most jersey sponsorships are built around brand awareness through uniform visibility, this one is built around modern day storytelling for youth audiences and internet distribution.

Cullen built All Hail Bball by documenting the parts of basketball traditional media often overlooks: emerging prospects, grassroots recruiting, underrated player development, and the untold stories behind athletes.

His “Project Prospect” series followed Luca Federico from an under-the-radar player to a nationally ranked recruit, generating millions of views along the way.

Now Robert Morris is bringing that storytelling engine inside its college program.

All Hail Bball will create social-first content around players, coaches, team culture, and moments throughout the season.

Instead of hoping traditional media tells their story, RMU is partnering directly with a creator who already has the audience, storytelling ability, and cultural credibility to do it themselves.

The jersey patch becomes the physical symbol of a much bigger media partnership and this could become a blueprint for college athletics one day.

While smaller programs may never receive the media attention of blue bloods like Duke or Kentucky, but the right creator can help close that gap.

So the next great college partnership might not be with a network or traditional media partner but instead with a creator who already has the audience you’re trying to reach and creates content that younger sports fans already consume.

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FREE THROWS

Sharing the tools and resources that I’m using this week:

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POST-GAME

Thanks for reading! Here are a few ways we can stay connected:

🤝 Partner With Me: I work with brands, athletes and creators across their brand strategy, digital media, creator programs, partnerships, and marketing growth. Interested in working together? Get in touch here.

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👋 Stay Connected: Enjoyed this newsletter? Share it with a friend or colleague. Also follow me on LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok for more sports marketing and creator insights.

Thanks and see you later this week!

- Jeff Chen | 🏀💡👨🏻‍💻