One of my bigger projects this summer was giving the UMass Amherst Dance Team a much-needed digital refresh. As the team's assistant coach, I wanted to create a website and sponsorship materials that better reflected this Division IA program's talent, professionalism, and accomplishments.
On the positive side, UMass provides free website hosting and access to an editor. But... the required platform for student organizations was WordPress. I prefer working with more modern platforms like Duda, Squarespace, Wix, and other editors that I find offer greater design flexibility. WordPress felt clunky, but we were able to adapt our mockup to the platform with only a few minor compromises.
A Website that Matches the Team's Excellence
The UMass Dance Team performs at football and basketball games, participates in campus and community events, and competes nationally at the Division IA level (the highest level at UDA). Despite its extensive involvement, the team receives very limited university funding and must raise most of its annual budget independently. We wanted to create a central place where prospective dancers, families, alumni, sponsors and the UMass community could learn about the team and stay connected. With that in mind, we focused on creating a website and updating our sponsorship materials to better support the team's communications, recruitment and fundraising efforts.
Building Out the Website
A good portion of the summer went toward gathering and organizing photos, developing content, establishing a consistent visual identity and figuring out how to make the site work within WordPress. Here's a look at the different sections and what we wanted each to accomplish.
Homepage
The homepage needed to make an immediate impression while giving visitors a quick understanding of who we are. We focused on strong photography, clean typography, the team's mission and accessible navigation. We also incorporated space for upcoming events and recent news so the site could remain active throughout the season rather than serve as a static introduction.
Team Roster
This was one of my favorite pieces of the project. The roster introduces all 26 dancers for the 2026-2027 season, with individual photos and information about each team member, including their academic majors. These student-athletes work so hard all year long, and it felt great to give them a glimpse of the recognition that they so deserve.
Beyond the visual appeal, I love that this section gives visitors a chance to get to know the students behind the performances.
*** A special shoutout to photographer Josiah, whose headshots helped bring this section together. Having consistent, professional photography makes such a difference, especially when you're presenting a large group of student-athletes as one cohesive team.
About the Team
This section establishes the team's mission and role within the university. The Dance Team does much more than perform on the sidelines. Its members serve as ambassadors for UMass Amherst, support Athletics, work alongside the Minuteman Marching Band and Spirit Program, participate in community outreach, and represent the university at national competitions.
We wanted to communicate the scope of that commitment and the pride that comes with representing UMass.
News and Updates
We also built out a dedicated news area to share team announcements, events, achievements and other updates throughout the year. From a public relations perspective, this was an important addition. Having an owned platform gives us a place to tell our own stories, provide context and create content that can be shared across social channels.
Events and Clinics
Connecting with younger dancers and the surrounding community is another important part of the program. The website provides a place to promote clinics, performances and other opportunities to engage with the team.
It also makes it easier for prospective dancers and their families to find information without having to dig through social media posts.
Sponsorship and Support
We also updated the team's sponsorship materials to create a more professional and consistent presentation for prospective business partners.
Since the program is largely self-funded, sponsorships are essential. We wanted the materials to communicate both the financial needs of the team and the value of partnering with a program that represents UMass at athletic events, community activities and national competitions.
The goal was to make it easier for businesses to understand the program, recognize the opportunities for involvement and see the impact their support can have on student-athletes.
A Few Lessons in Design Flexibility
I won't pretend WordPress became my favorite platform over the course of this project. It didn't.
But this was a good reminder that design projects don't always happen under ideal circumstances. Sometimes you're working within an existing content management system, university requirements or a template that doesn't cooperate with your original concept.
The challenge is figuring out which elements matter most and how to preserve them, even when the technology has other ideas. In this case, we prioritized strong imagery, clear messaging, simple navigation and consistency across the site's pages and supporting materials. We couldn't execute every detail of the original design, but we were able to create something that feels much more representative of the program.
Sponsor materials and interactivity
Another big part of the summer project involved updating the materials and digital tools that support the team's recruitment, fundraising and communications efforts.
We developed a new sponsorship presentation that gives prospective partners a clearer picture of the program, its accomplishments, financial needs and opportunities for support. We also created a sponsorship interest form to simplify the process for businesses interested in partnering with the team.
Recruitment was another priority. We incorporated interactive forms for prospective dancers, making it easier for interested students to connect with the program and share their information. Rather than relying entirely on emails, direct messages or scattered social media posts, we wanted to create a more organized and accessible process.
These additions were just as important as the visual redesign. A website should do more than look good. It should make information easier to find, encourage engagement and help an organization accomplish its goals.
For the UMass Dance Team, that means attracting prospective dancers, building relationships with sponsors, promoting events and supporting the program's long-term growth.
Ready for the 2026-2027 Season
By the end of summer 2026, we had gathered and published new photography, written and organized the site's content, updated the sponsorship materials, and launched the refreshed website in time for the start of the fall season.
There's always more that can be done with a website, particularly one that needs to evolve throughout the academic year. But this gives the team a much stronger foundation for recruitment, fundraising, community engagement and sharing its accomplishments.
And more importantly, it gives these incredibly talented, hardworking students a digital presence that better reflects the program they're so proud to represent.
Take a look at the finished website:
www.umass.edu/danceteam
