Yes, I agree with both your points, although I thought it was obvious that "better" was my opinion.
But you're right, what's needed is mandated oversight. Thomas (or someone pretty high) needs to care enough to want consistency. And then he needs to create a process through which this stuff has to happen.
And yes, there are times when a department needs something quicker than the process can handle, and that's where the designers could create a handful of templates for various applications where the department staffer just changes out text and photos.
But this has never been a priority of the leadership at the DIA, and I don't necessarily sense that has changed, although it's too early to say. They obviously cared enough about the brand to go through this process even if I think they underachieved, so hopefully that signals a change in priorities.
Most things coming out of the Sports Information Department (so that includes sport—not coaches—social media accounts) will look on brand. They've always done a good job communicating with the designers (in part because they're basically the same department even when they weren't). It's more about the other departments that have less direct contact—usually the individual teams—where this becomes an issue.
