• Loading stock data...
Saturday, July 19, 2025

How Joe Centeno and Team Infographics Are Building The Future of Sports Social Media

The company was born out of the need for a tool to help time-starved departments.

Joe Centeno (left) cofunded the company with Gilbert and Patty Chavarria. (Photo via Joe Centeno)

Think of your favorite college or professional sports team.

Odds are, that team has partnered with Joe Centeno and Team Infographics (TI) in the past several years in order to build a unique and effective social presence.

Since Centeno, the company’s art director, founded Team Infographics in 2012 alongside partners Gilbert and Patty Chavarria, the El Paso, Texas based agency of less than 20 employees has grown into one of the premier creative entities in sport by offering clients of all sizes the ability to stand out on all major, social platforms.

An El Paso native himself, Centeno attended the Rochester Institute of Technology before returning home to the University of Texas at El Paso, where his career in sports began to take shape.

“I started off as a marketing intern and then just started gradually working my way up. I taught myself Photoshop and video editing. I was intrigued by that part of it and just self-taught and picked up what I could with Photoshop and really liked the athletic style design and kind of where it was going.”

After a year of working as an intern, Centeno was offered a full time position with UTEP athletics in 2005 as the Coordinator of Video Production and Graphic Design, a role he stayed in for over five years.

In that role, Centeno started UTEP Athletics’ Graphic Design and Video Production Department leading a talented team of graphic artists and videographers to create marketing materials promoting the Miners’ various teams.

During his time at UTEP, Centeno learned from the financial and manpower limitations that often come from working in the Group of Five and mid major athletics.

“You just have to be creative. There wasn’t unlimited budget to work with, so there were certain areas you had to devote time and resources to and others you just couldn’t because of manpower.

If there was a resource like Team Infographics that was available, affordable, and going to ease the workflow on game day in order to increase their social presence — as important as that may or may not have been ten years ago, today it’s very important.”

After seeing these kind of situations digital marketers find themselves in, Centeno and the Chavarrias created a product to make their lives easier.

In addition to having the capability to design and build digital aesthetic for organizations that do not have graphic designers or artists on staff, Team Infographics enables even organizations that have full in-house production teams to greatly increase their graphic output.

Similar to a system like Wordpress, the agency gives their clients access to their site that houses all the pre-made and coded images, motion graphics, and videos. On game days, even someone with no Photoshop or After Effects experience can generate a graphic, GIF, or video ready for posting in a matter of seconds.

“Say it’s the end of the quarter and they want to do a score update,” Centeno states as he describes this process. “All they have to do is plug in a couple of numbers (point totals or stats), hit a button, and a graphic is spit out for them.”

After logging in on Team Infographics, a client’s social media manager just follows the simple input steps shown and the finished graphic below is what is produced.

“We’ve already prepped players, styles and everything that could come up. I think where we’ve found the most power behind is where we can put it in the hands of someone like a social media director or even a marketing intern. Any one of those people could log in to their account. They wouldn’t have to worry about anything being off brand or not up to their standard since everything is already built and approved beforehand.”

A graphic made using TI’s system.

Team Infographics has made this system work for organizations such as, the Carolina Panthers, the University of Maryland, the New York Knicks, the PGA Tour, and hundreds of others over the last several years; but, Centeno recalls one of the first clients he worked with (and still works with to this day) that got the agency going in a major way: the University of Oregon football program.

“I remember [Oregon] because it was one of my first cold emails, and Craig Pintens responded. Getting that response from him was a little bit of a ‘pinch myself’ moment. They were one of the first to really push it, in everything they do, but especially on social media with Oregon football. At that time, I thought to myself that if Oregon was on board with this, then I think we’ve got something.”

Witnessing the success of Team Infographics is inspiring for a couple of reasons. For one, if you are part of a marketing department with limited resources, you can know that there are tools like the products and services of TI that can help you create high quality content, and a lot of it.

Second, young professionals and digital creatives can look to what the hard work of a small group of passionate individuals has yielded and have hope for their own futures. You just have to find ways to be original.

“Don’t limit yourself to learning only sports design. Every team has its own unique background and traditions, so that these designs could all be completely different. Look at other forms of inspiration to make your team look unique.”


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

Aura farming tiktoks

The ‘Aura Farming’ Boat Dance Taking Over the Sports World

An unlikely viral boat dance has ignited the sports world.

Shitposters Have Taken the Reins of Pro Sports’ Official Voices

Meet the social media pros turning sports teams into internet trolls.
Jun 16, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) is introduced before the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers in game five of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center.

NBA Taking Cues From NBA Twitter in Restoring Finals Pageantry

The NBA and ESPN/ABC made several changes on the fly.
Michelle Wie West
exclusive

Michelle Wie West Is Latest Athlete to Invest in Togethxr

The brand tripled its revenue year over year and is profitable.

Featured Today

Ryan Field Construction
exclusive

First Look Inside Northwestern’s $862 Million New Ryan Field

Five big things FOS learned on our exclusive stadium tour.
Jul 21, 2024; Ayrshire, SCT; Xander Schauffele celebrates with Claret Jug after winning the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon.
July 17, 2025

The Boozy History and Traditions of The Open’s Claret Jug

The Open awards the world’s most famous wine decanter.
2025 PDC World Darts Championship Final - Luke Littler vs Michael Van Gerwen
July 16, 2025

A Teen Darts Prodigy Is Becoming Bigger Than the Game Itself

Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler is cashing in on his devastatingly accurate shot.
May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (USA) reacts before the women's 100m hurdles during the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia at Franklin Field
exclusive
July 13, 2025

Track’s New Money Is Running Into Old Problems

The sport’s big-money era has hit some speed bumps in 2025.

Judge Rules for NFL, Fanatics Against Small Apparel Seller

The lawsuit argued the NFL “aids and abets” Fanatics with its strategy.
June 13, 2025

What Rolapp’s NFL Exit Means—and the Top Candidates to Replace Him

NFL media boss Brian Rolapp leaves; the league hunts for his replacement.
John Textor
July 11, 2025

UEFA Boots Crystal Palace from Europa League Over Ownership Issues

The South London club will appeal the ruling.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Gabby Thomas
exclusive
June 12, 2025

Grand Slam Track Cancels Los Angeles Meet As $30 Million Track Start-Up..

Sources close to Grand Slam insist money is not an issue.
May 23, 2025

New LPGA Commissioner: Women’s Golf ‘Really Hard’ to Find on TV

Former PGA of America COO Craig Kessler will lead the tour.
Donald Trump, Nick Saban
May 22, 2025

Proposed Trump College Sports Commission May Never Happen

The White House is not sure of its plans.
May 15, 2025

PGA Championship Tees Off With Free Food, Record Hospitality Sales

General admission includes unlimited food and non-alcoholic beverages.