NCAA and social media: Friends?

NCAA is jumping on the social media bandwagon. Photo credit: biojobblog.com

I’d like to extend a huge “welcome!” to NCAA collegiate athletic departments – it seems that this year, you may have finally realized the power of technology in bringing fans into your stadiums. Well, at least some of you have.

What am I talking about? Well, apparently, a panel of [experts?] convened at an NCAA education session and came up with the following finding:

“Programs willing to invest in effective communication can reap far greater support than at any time in their history.”

Couldn’t agree more. I’m just left a little confused as to why it took a panel of experts AND so much time to figure this out. These tools have been around forever. The only thing I can come up with is that there are some weird regulations out there that I don’t know about. Or athletic departments weren’t willing to lose control of their information. But now they don’t have any choice, and control is being relinquished. I guess that’s innovation?

NCAA institutions (especially schools which have strong female programs) should be doing everything they can to get fans, even if that means going online. Free tools exist, starting with Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. These are ways to connect with people and keep them engaged, and sports fans are some of the most faithful users. Embrace it.

So I have to ask the question -  sports information directors, where the heck have you been?

You’ve got a lot of work to do. You need to show me why my friends and I should care about you. What makes you different and cool? What makes you indispensable?

The NCAA panel was right – unlike any other time in history, there’s a huge opportunity here. But like the millions of Americans who are out of work or suffering in the economic depression, you’ve got some proving to do. Here are a few things to think about:

1) Don’t turn anyone away.

When I (a small, yet proactive blogger who has an interest in your team) calls you to ask for media credentials, please don’t tell me you “don’t do blogs” (yes, it’s happened). That just makes my heart hurt. Who are you waiting for? ESPN?

This type of attitude certainly doesn’t make friends. Embrace any type of journalism that comes your way. Give up some control and trust us. It’s a rare thing these days.

2) Make your site content portable.

Online, the only thing I can access is your Web site. Some of your Web sites don’t even have RSS feeds. I just don’t have enough time in my day to manually check your site after each game.  You need to make the content sharable and flexible. Create a Fan page for your teams. Let them have their own followings. Engage. Let go.

3) Give fans a voice.

Peter Robert Casey tweets live from St. John's sidelines. Photo credit: sportsin140.com

Chances are PRETTY good that during the year, you’ve got some popular fans in your stands (some of which probably have localized networks of at least 1,000 people). That’s a pretty big opportunity.

For example, the St. John’s basketball program capitalized. One of my Twitter friends, Peter Robert Casey tweets from the slideline of the St. Johns basketball games, and he’s given full access to the team. Pretty cool opportunity (meaning he doesn’t even need to be paid). Suddenly, St. Johns matters. Not only to Peter, but to all those who follow him – his entire network. St. Johns has a presence, a story, and an authentic voice. Now that’s valuable.

4) Give players a voice.

Let them tweet. Let them blog. Let them connect with other teams. Let them have a Facebook account. (but give them boundaries – too many pictures can be a bad thing) These public places allow athletes to have a personality and a face. These are important. Let them connect.

5) Embrace online video. Offer it for free.

The biggest opportunity in intercollegiate athletics is to publish your own online video, something that’s so easy to implement. The only live video coverage I’ve seen of women’s basketball (I choose women’s basketball because that’s where my interest lies, though this can be applied to many different sports and genders) is on TV.

And that’s rare, often broadcast from national networks like ESPN, local networks like Comcast or newly emerging conference networks like the Big Ten Network (which airs on TV and charges $2.99 per game to watch online). Some sites like D3hoops.com offer live video during the Final Four. If there are others out there, I haven’t found them.

But that’s not enough. I know that coaches film every game. In fact, coaches swap video tapes to each other (for free) for scouting purposes. Why can’t we just take that type of sharing and do it online? Why can’t fans have access? You can even broadcast the event live from your Web site using a program like UStream. Very easy. Again, a huge opportunity.

I could probably keep going all night, but I wanted to get my initial thoughts out there. I would LOVE to hear what others think about this, as it’s a trend that I believe we’ll continue to see this year.

…now of only we could get my friend Q McCall, one of the best women’s basketball bloggers out there, into the Seton Hall games…