March Madness is Upon Us

March signifies what, in my opinion, is the beginning of the greatest couple weeks in collegiate athletics. I’ll admit it, I’m addicted to college basketball. I’m one of those guys who runs through the hypothetical brackets each day, noting rises and falls of the major seeds, and also the positioning of the potential “cinderellas”.

Most of us here at ICS are Syracuse University Alumni(myself included), and looking around the offices today, it’s easy to tell by our bleary-eyed stares that almost all of us watched the end of the 6-OT epic game last night. Our fearless leader, Jeff Rubin, was at the Garden last night for the game – and in true Jeff fashion, I got two text messages from him last night:

1:30AM – Jeff Rubin: Wow!

And, as any of you who know Jeff personally can attest to, the man never stops working… so…

2:38AM – Jeff Rubin: I need your help first thing in the am… need some graphics.

Yes, merely an hour and change after the epic win of his Alma Mater in the Big East Tournament, he’s not out celebrating – he’s texting me, asking for help with some promo graphics. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the definitive Jeff Rubin.

I’ve been at ICS for nearly 4 years now, and it always seems that this is the point each year where not only the excitement surrounding college basketball ramps up, but the ICS “busy season” starts to take shape. As colleges and universities across the country start to wrap up the hectic basketball seasons, sport information staffs start to have more time to focus on everything outside of the gym, and their website often takes the spotlight. Just in the past week or so I saw that we welcomed 7 new members to the ICS family, which puts us at a strong 260 members and growing – another exciting start to the “busy season” for us.

I want to take a moment to mention that although we’re always excited to welcome new members to the ICS Family, that once you’re a “member”, you’re definitely not forgotten. We truly thank each and every one of you who have been with us for many years, many weeks, or many days – to say that we appreciate your business would be a vast understatement.

About a month ago, I was promoted to oversee the entire creative team – and in such I have spent time with our senior staff strategizing and preparing for the upcoming months – and I can confidently say that we’re ready. We are in the process of welcoming new team members and polishing workflow processes – all so we can serve you more efficiently and effectively.

I’m looking forward to the next few weeks, and hopefully watching my alma mater drive deep into the NCAA tournament, but also the coming months as we continue to grow and provide support, help, and occasionally some laughter for each and every one of you.