• Loading stock data...
Monday, September 15, 2025

31 Teams and Counting: How Penn State Athletics Tells Their Story on Social Media

The department relies on teamwork and a cohesive brand image to execute their plans successfully.

Penn State has one of the largest athletic departments in the NCAA. How do they create a striking and consistent look for all their sports on social media?


The average NCAA Division I school fields nineteen varsity athletic teams. As college sports marketers will tell you, creating a unified look, feel, and voice on social media for nineteen sports teams is no simple task. Now imagine doing this for thirty-one varsity teams at a school with the seventh largest enrollment in the country.

That’s exactly what Kristina Nauman, Associate Director of Social Media for Penn State University (PSU) athletics, and the rest of the creative services staff, with the help of Team Infographics (TI) have been able to do.

Nauman (above) has overseen Penn State’s social channels for the last 17 months. (Photo via Kristina Nauman)

Nauman is a 2016 graduate of PSU who earned her degree in marketing. During her undergraduate years, Nauman landed an internship in Brand Digital with Under Armour. That eventually led her to pursue her current role with the Nittany Lions, where she has been for the last seventeen months.

“I figured what better way to combine a passion I already have for sports with another passion for Penn State with yet another love that I found working in social media,” Nauman says of her career path. “I have been able to develop my role a lot since starting here a year and a half ago and I’ve been enjoying what I’ve been able to make of it so far.”

At PSU, two full time staff members have social media as their primary role: Nauman and a separate director, who oversees the social channels for PSU football. Nauman is the sole manager of content for the main athletics social channels (@GoPSUSports), but also oversees social strategy for all of Penn State’s teams and teaches best practices to all staffers who manage a team’s social media presence as part of their duties.

“I meet weekly with anyone who manages social media and instead of just using social media as click bait to get people to our website or just checking a box to post a certain announcement, I think we’ve been strategic in the message we’re telling on social media, what the cadence looks like, how we’re presenting our stuff visually.”

In the course of the past year, Penn State athletic teams have gone through a visual rebrand on social media. Previously, each team, more or less, created their own visual/aesthetic guidelines. Now, Nauman and company’s strategic efforts have created a consistent and cohesive look for all of their team channels.

“We have some teams that felt like they already had a really strong individual identity. Not just on social media, but in all of their creative assets. To present this to them in a way that helps them to understand this is bringing all of our teams to the design forefront and helping to create a stronger overall brand that lifts everyone up simultaneously was a challenge.”

“But our graphic designers and the creative services team did a really cool job of bringing some of the coolest assets to those people first, so you’ve got to present it in a way that shows each team that they’re going to be benefiting just as much as the programs that are traditionally more in the spotlight.”

Penn State’s talented graphic design and photography team do a spectacular job of creating and compiling assets to tell the stories of PSU’s student-athletes. However, with thirty-one teams to promote, managing busy game days gets tricky. That’s where Team Infographics come in handy, as Nauman can attest.

“Our designers come up with the look. They have all the elements in place, and then TI basically elevate that design to the next level by adding motion elements to it. We don’t have the time or resources to have motion graphics on our own for the eleven different teams TI helps us with.”


PSU’s graphic designers create stunning static graphics like the one on the left for the men’s hockey program. But with the help of Team Infographics, they can add motion elements that can be produced quickly and on the fly. (Images via Kristina Nauman)

With the creative assets and brand standards in the hands of TI and their products, any athletics staffer just needs to plug in numbers and information using TI’s interface, and high quality graphics are good to go.

“The biggest benefit of working with TI is how seamlessly we are able to pump out high quality content for our teams during a time when we can’t replicate that content on our own in game. We know it’s going to look the same every single time no matter if it is a graphic designer or an intern that’s assisting with creating some of that content.”

Even with the help of TI, the fact that an operation as large as PSU does such a thorough and superb job of promoting their fencing and wrestling programs with the same passion and attention to detail as the football program is a testament to the power of teamwork.

“We have a very collaborative environment here. If we weren’t in constant contact and we didn’t all share the same creative vision and goal, then none of this would be possible, especially on game days. We have 10–15 different people who are covering the game and maybe 3–4 of those people are dedicated to executing primarily on social media.”

“So, it’s really a beast that we put a lot of time and effort into because we recognize the value it brings to our fans and also the value it brings back to our athletic department in telling the stories of our student-athletes in a meaningful way.”

As a digital creative/strategist, Nauman has shown the importance of being able to learn and adjust with the volatile nature of the social media world. For those aspiring to work in this area of the sport industry, she offers these parting words of advice:

“Keep learning. We work in a space that is constantly changing. It’s like playing a game where they’re constantly changing the rules on you. So, if you can continue to educate and innovate yourself, I think that’s how you’re going to succeed in this industry.”


This piece has been presented to you by SMU’s Master of Science in Sport Management.


*Team Infographics is a proud Partner of Front Office Sports.

For more on Team Infographics and their products, check out our profile on the company and founder Joe Centeno.


Front Office Sports is a leading multi-platform publication and industry resource that covers the intersection of business and sports.

Want to learn more, or have a story featured about you or your organization? Contact us today.

https://upscri.be/f32ae1/

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese (8) pursues Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) during the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025.

College Football Enters Week 3 Up 21% in TV Ratings

Total college football viewership across all networks is up big.
opinion

19 Rising Stars in Sports Media

Who are sports media’s rising stars? Here’s an inside look.
Sep 6, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; General view of a Fox Sports camera station before the game between the Delaware Fightin Blue Hens against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field.

Lachlan Murdoch on Fox’s Sports Strategy, FanDuel Plans

The executive calls a forthcoming streaming bundle with ESPN “essential” for fans.
Mar 4, 2025; Washington, DC, USA; House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., speaks with Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-Ga., ahead of President Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025.

House Republicans Delay SCORE Act Vote Tentatively Planned for Next Week

They didn’t believe they had enough votes to pass the bill.

Featured Today

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 19: A detailed view of the MLB Debut patch on the jersey of Patrick Monteverde #44 of the Miami Marlins prior to game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on April 19, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Tiny Jersey Patch at the Center of the MLB Rookie Card..

Autographed cards containing a piece of baseball history have upended the market.
September 11, 2025

Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl Rematch Could Set More NFL Ratings Records

Fox will nationally televise Sunday afternoon’s matchup.
September 10, 2025

ESPN’s ‘MNF’ Ratings Up 8% As NFL Surges to Strong Start

ESPN posts its second-best Week 1 “Monday Night Football” audience.
Sep 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills fans react during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium.
September 9, 2025

As Bills Ascend, Their Next Frontier Lies in Canada

Buffalo and the powerful Canadian entity MLSE come together in a new pact.
FIFA

Saudis Awarded 2034 World Cup in Uncontested Vote

Saudi Arabia was the only option after Australia decided not to bid.
May 20, 2024

Top Sports Business Jobs This Week (May 2024)

Each week, our staff combs through the thousands of job listings from…
The stands at the Solheim Cup
September 13, 2024

LPGA Apologizes for Solheim Cup Fan Bus Debacle That Left Stands Half-Empty

The USA-Europe women’s team golf event teed off Friday morning.
Sponsored

How World Series Champ Dexter Fowler Became a Premier League Team Owner

Dexter Fowler discusses navigating retirement and embracing new roles as an owner & investor.
October 3, 2022

Real Madrid President Renews Call for Super League

Real Madrid’s president believes that soccer is losing ground.
August 10, 2022

PGA Tour Touts Projected Earnings to Keep Players

The PGA Tour is asking its players to consider their potential futures.
August 10, 2022

Bayern Munich to Make Growth Push in U.S. Market

Bayern Munich is looking to expand its reach in the U.S.
Nintendo-logo
August 3, 2022

Nintendo Profits Underwhelm, Switch Sales Decline

Nintendo failed to meet expectations in the company’s latest earnings report.