Can Twitter Bring Down an Athletic Program?

No college Athletic Director should have to undergo the stress of an unwanted press conference with reporters, cameras, and difficult questions. Thanks to a rise in today’s social media culture, more and more ADs are finding themselves in the position of having to answer for their team’s actions on twitter. For some ADs, the trouble caused by student athletes on social media leaves them wondering how their program can stay ahead of the social media tidal wave. However, when used correctly, and with proper social media training, a strategic social plan and peer mentoring, the school and student athletes can generate remarkable benefits.

There have been too many examples of student athletes and in a few cases, coaches, using Twitter improperly.  These mistakes led to the revocation of the athlete’s scholarship, expulsion and untold further damages.  Twitter and social media is not a joke anymore.  For student athletes, and the administration in charge of them, finding the best way to take advantage of their powerful position on social media as school ambassadors, while avoiding its pitfalls, has been a tricky road to navigate. Student athletes’ are more able to directly interact with fans, but unlike most students on campus, these 18-24 year olds are under a large and unforgiving spotlight.  These young adults need proactive training on social media as they were never trained to deal with the enormous pressures that the internet brings.

More and more, college programs are going to have to ask themselves if they’re educating their student athletes on how to avoid the mess that can come from a mere 140 characters (see University of Michigan story). For student athletes, social media can become one of the key tools used to market themselves. Maturing while under a spotlight can be a tricky and providing effective social media education for them (student athletes) will directly benefit their program as well.