River States Conference rebranding goes into effect for KIAC, new website launched
River States Conference rebranding goes into effect for KIAC, new website launched
FLORENCE, Ky. -- After 100 years as the KIAC, the oldest conference in the NAIA has officially rebranded to the River States Conference, effective July 1, 2016! Welcome to RiverStatesConference.com!
Founded in 1916, the conference reached its 100-year milestone in 2016. The current membership includes 13 schools representing five states -- Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
With the rebranding officially launched July 1, 2016, the first day of the new athletic year, the conference has put forth a new name that unifies the member schools under the river that runs through them and reflects the geographical layout that spans five different states. The new name best represents the current membership.
The Ohio River bisects the River States Conference and reaches from end to end from the western border of the conference in Kentucky and Indiana to the eastern edge in Pennsylvania. In between, it forms the borders separating all of the states in the conference, including Ohio and West Virginia.
On March 4, 2016, the new conference name and logo was officially unveiled at a news conference at IU Southeast. And now, with the calendar reaching July 1, the conference has reached the culmination of a rebranding process that began four years ago in the spring of 2012.
For more information about the unveiling of the River States Conference name and logo and details about the process, click these links for resources from the March 4, 2016 news conference.
Watch: River States Conference name and logo unveiled at March 4, 2016 News Conference at IU Southeast
Press Release: KIAC announces River States Conference as new name, unveils new logo (March 4, 2016)
WEBSITE
RiverStatesConference.com was created by the conference's web partner, SIDHelp, which has hosted the conference website platform since 2005. As the primary branding tool to the River States Conference, it gives us a source of pride and our main channel to reaching the outside world.
The website prominently displays the River States Conference logo and color scheme. The colors include blue -- the same blue from the KIAC -- which represents the river. Green represents land and the five states.Member schools are put in the forefront in the top header.
The RiverStatesConference.com hompage displays a plethora of news headlines, which serves the conference well with its 13 members and 15 championship sports providing a wide audience of visitors.
The site is designed with social media in mind. Fans can easily connect with the River States Conference with links to Twitter and Facebook as well as the RSC video streaming platform on Stretch Internet displayed under the main headlines.
The right-hand column includes the @RiverStatesConf Twitter feed embedded into the site for a constant stream of news coming from our Twitter page. Above that are the most-recent and upcoming games, which will house the latest scores as well as links to live coverage coming up.
The top menu provides the main navigation with information about member schools and the RSC's championship sports. The sport pages feature the standings prominently displayed for easy access.
SOCIAL MEDIA & VIDEO STREAMING
With the rebranding to River States Conference, our social media channels have undergone a change. Our Twitter page is now @RiverStatesConf (formerly @KIACSports), and our Facebook page is now Facebook.com/RiverStatesConference (formerly Facebook.com/KIACSports).
Our social media followers need not worry, because existing followers have carried over to the new accounts. If you were a follower of ours in the past, you are still a follower now. Be sure to follow us on social media for the latest updates and regularly check in on the new website.
Our conference streaming platform on Stretch Internet will now be changed to http://portal.stretchinternet.com/RSC. Be sure to bookmark the new page when it becomes available.