College. That word brings back so many memories for those of us that attended an "institution of higher education".
Many of the defining and influential academic moments in any college career are the result of unexpected, inspired learning. In my own experiences, I was able to shape some direction with my college experience, ultimately building a rough foundation for a future career as an entrepreneur. I'm sure thousands of other people have similar stories.
Academics aside, many great memories from college take place around sports. High-profile student-athletes are like gods walking around campus, and their nineteen-year-old brains are looking for the same enlightenment and direction as every other college student.
With the inescapable rise of social media, every moment of the athletes' lives are subject to the watching lens of thousands of smart phones, each phone a single post away from creating a breaking-news story on SportsCenter. Of course, there is always the potential of a misguided post from the athlete himself, which is the "Holy Grail" of sensationalized collegiate sports stories.
In light of this, each university has a different stance on how student-athletes utilize or interact with social media. Some institutions have gone so far as to ban athletes from posting on their personal accounts during the season, or even during their entire time as a collegiate athlete.
Banning social media usage for student-athletes goes directly against what college stands for -- an opportunity to profoundly influence and educate young people looking to build skills that will serve as a foundation for their working future.
For any athlete lucky enough to transition from playing collegiately to professionally, their future involves so much more than solely playing sports -- there are endorsements, appearances and social media content that work in concert to maximize income in a relatively short playing career. With the average NFL career at 3.3 years according to the NFLPA, and the average NBA career at 4.8 years, these professional athletes need to be in the position to optimize their earning potential relatively early on in their working lives.
Many savvy university athletic programs already recognize this, and they are putting policies and educational practices in place that help guide and coach student-athletes in optimizing their personal use of social media.
Below are three great examples of University athletic programs that are passionately supporting student-athletes in their efforts to maximize their social media accounts to help them develop a valuable skill that could directly translate into a successful future career and income.
University of Colorado
"It's a completely different world than it was five years ago," said the University of Colorado's Curtis Snyder, the Director of Digital for Athletics. "Most incoming freshman have had social media accounts since they were in junior high, so they've been on these platforms for years and have already seen bad content from both college and pro athletes numerous times."
Just in case a blue chip athlete might think they're immune to any consequences, Curtis always has the same message, "The first thing I tell any incoming athlete is to go Google 'college athlete kicked off team, Twitter.' When they see hundreds of search results pop up immediately, it's pretty easy to understand the magnitude of screwing up."
From that moment on, the focus shifts to helping athletes become better at utilizing social media to its fullest potential, and Curtis and his digital team take their role as educators very seriously.
Case in point is helping every incoming freshman athlete set up a LinkedIn account as quickly as possible. "Most athletes think LinkedIn is just for people trying to get a job, but we remind them that in four years that's what they'll most likely be doing." While LinkedIn isn't something athletes are actively using during college, getting them onto this platform starts to create the mindset that social media is eventually an integral part of business -- whether they become a professional athlete or not.
Duke University
When it comes to collegiate sports, there are few experiences quite like Duke basketball. Executive Director of Digital Ryan Craig sees his inherent responsibility as providing the best possible experience for both student-athletes and rabid fans, giving an experience that will not only prepare students for their future, but also make sure they enjoy their time at the University.
Keeping this in mind, Duke involves their athletes as much as possible in Snapchat and Twitter "takeovers," encouraging a strong interaction between athletes and their deeply passionate fan base. This helps both the athlete and the University build their brand together, which fosters a mutually beneficial relationship.
According to Ryan, the idea of embracing student-athletes' social media is a philosophy that runs deep at Duke. "Our job is to showcase the best of our student-athletes, whether they end up being a top NBA Draft pick, or they end their athletic career as soon as they graduate. Social media is an ideal platform to help accomplish this objective."
At the start of each new school year, Ryan and his team educate every single athlete on best social media practices and how to successfully represent the Duke brand. From that moment on, Duke largely operates from a point of positivity and trust, involving student-athletes as much as possible in creating strong points of connection with fans.
Arizona State University
Overseeing social media for a University's Athletic Department is no easy task. At ASU, that means being able to somehow follow and help support a social narrative made up of 550 individual stories.
Keeping track of all these athletes takes a certain level of commitment, but it is easy to understand why Social Media Manager Grace Hoy has been successful. "A huge part of my life is ASU and ASU Athletics, so I'm always looking to know who has an interesting background story, who needs my help and when to provide recommendations."
One great illustration of an interesting social media success story is that of former Sun Devil's football walk-on Jordan Simone. A redshirt transfer from Washington State, Jordan was asked by Grace to help live-tweet the 2013 game between ASU and his former team.
Though he was unknown to most Sun Devil's Twitter followers at the time, Jordan was able to provide a truly unique and personal perspective. The response was so positive that Jordan became an ongoing presence in ASU's football social media content, from behind-the-scenes photos and videos to insightful team status updates.
During his collegiate career, Jordan gained thousands of Twitter followers, stole the show in several Sun Devil Football social media videos and even hosted the "Simone Show" on the local NBC affiliate 12News Phoenix. He earned a full scholarship, starting his final two seasons, received two Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mentions and was voted a team captain during his 2015 senior season.
"We always tell our athletes that 90 percent of future employers will look at their social media profiles," said Head of Digital Kate Janczewski. "We want those employers to see their social content as an asset, not a detriment."
In the case of Jordan Simone, social media was more than an asset; it was a real-time education in building a strong personal brand.
To these three Universities, and hundreds of other Athletic Departments' digital teams with a similar approach, thank you for working so hard to embrace collegiate athletes and their use of social media. Helping dozens of others like Jordan Simone build their digital brand is truly what a college education is all about.