NCAA Men’s Final Four: Gonzaga Celebrates Thrilling Run With Ties to Storied Program’s History

Creative Director Matt Villareal, Sports Information Director Barrett Henderson are pulling in content onsite

Gonzaga has been the mid-major darling of men’s college basketball for decades now. But, if the Bulldogs – fresh off their exhilarating overtime victory over UCLA in the Final Four on Saturday — close the deal tonight, it will mark the program’s first-ever national title. In many ways, if Gonzaga does hoist the trophy, it will be the culmination of a program’s entire legacy.

That was the storytelling approach the creative media team at Gonzaga Athletics wanted to build around the team’s journey in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bubble in Indianapolis.

“Gonzaga’s history is very storied,” says Mark Natale, director, video services, Gonzaga University Athletics. “Tying in the former players and showing them their respect to go alongside the praise that the current guys are getting was pretty important to us. We’re trying to tie in the old school with the new school to tie the whole program together.”

You know what the goal is.

By @NigelWG5 pic.twitter.com/WhxbTjTPZC

— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) April 3, 2021

In addition to capturing some content onsite, the team has been engaging fans and alumni with content showcasing former players (such as the legendary Adam Morrison) through Instagram Live interviews and the like.

The overall strategy also made sense for the ’Zags given the increased restrictions due to safety requirements of the bubble in Indy. The athletic department is fortunate enough to have the Bulldogs’ Creative Director, Men’s Basketball Recruiting, Matt Villareal, who is capturing most of the photo and video content throughout the tournament. As a member of the team’s traveling bubble, he has access to the team that many — even others in the Gonzaga program — don’t have. He is also receiving a hand from Sports Information Director Barrett Henderson.

Social- and digital-content rights at the NCAA Tournament are notoriously strict, but Villareal and Henderson have made the most of the situation, creating celebratory content, including unique angles following freshman Jalen Suggs’ buzzer-beater on Saturday night.

All the feels pic.twitter.com/QLqSHM06Gf

— Gonzaga Basketball (@ZagMBB) April 4, 2021

Natale — who put together a student watch party at the team’s arena on Saturday night and is holding down the fort in Spokane, WA, for the athletic department’s other 14 sports — did note that restrictions have been challenging, even though the Bulldogs are among the fortunate few to have a dedicated shooter onsite.

“The frustrating thing is that we’re limited in what we can do because of the bubble and what restrictions it puts on the creative team,” Natale explains. “If your university doesn’t prioritize creativity or having people there to tell the story, it becomes a lot harder. We’re putting people in roles that they are not familiar with. That makes it a lot harder to do the work that we want and are capable of doing.”

Gonzaga freshman Jalen Suggs was the star of the weekend when his overtime buzzer-beater gave the Bulldogs the win over UCLA in Saturday’s National Semifinal. (Photo: Matt Villareal, Gonzaga Athletics)

Gonzaga student Ben Lathwell, who works in the athletic department and whom Natale describes as a “complete rock star,” has been editing a lot of the videos that Villareal and Henderson have shipped from Indy over Google Drive. Villareal is doing plenty of editing of his own with help from Henderson.

A huge game-changer for the Gonzaga creative team this postseason has been a new partnership that the West Coast Conference has formed with popular social-media company INFLCR. Using INFLCR, the creative team is able to set up a seamless workflow that allows content creators on staff to send edited photo and video content to student athletes for them to share on their own social-media platforms.

In addition, freshman player Julian Strawther was given a GoPro camera and has been actively shooting content from the locker room and on team outings to allow access only an athletic department’s content team can provide.

“[Julian is] a big personality and really talks it up to the camera,” says Natale. “He has been great. The fans have really enjoyed getting that first-hand perspective.”