The hashtag has taken on a life of its own.
But some might be surprised to learn UCF’s new football coach Scott Frost wasn’t the one who initially came up with the idea for #UCFast.
No. That honor goes to the school’s communications department, which first coined it for the women’s track and field team in 2013.
“We changed it slightly for our announcement of Frost to #UCFrost,” UCF sports information director Brian Ormiston told the Orlando Sentinel.
But it was a comment by erstwhile Oregon offensive coordinator Frost during his introductory press conference — “We’re going to punch the accelerator and go fast around here” — that helped inspire the “UCFast” campaign.
The school’s marketing and communications offices teamed to create graphics that could be used on Twitter and other social-media platforms. Frost and his staff saw the popularity of the hashtag and wanted more ideas. Soon afterward, #UCFierce and #RiseandConquer, which would become the overall football slogan for the program, became integral parts of the Knights’ lexicon.
Getting social
A school’s presence on social-media platforms can be just as important as more traditional marketing tools.
“From our perspective, social media is really important,” said Craig Pintens, senior athletics director for marketing and public relations at Oregon.
The school’s athletic department has long embraced the role of social media in reaching out to not only fans but also recruits within the limits of NCAA rules.
“Let’s face it, of all of the fans that we have on any social media, a very select few of them are recruits and if they are recruits, they are recruits that we would be interested in,” he said.
Oregon isn’t the only school that knows the sway social media can have with today’s fans.
Pittsburgh football coach Pat Narduzzi has been a strong advocate for its use since arriving at the school a year ago.
“We made a big bang a year ago here when I got hired,” Narduzzi said. “I’ve always thought it was important.
“We can’t do it all by ourselves. We can’t sit in a little cocoon over here on the south side of Pittsburgh and build what we’re building. We need the help of others and we need the fan base to be energized. That’s one way to bring them in and to make them understand what’s going on, what we’re doing and how we’re doing it.”
More than 65,000 Virginia Tech fans pack Lane Stadium in Blacksburg on any given Saturday, and the school was looking for a unique way to create a sense of ownership and pride in the city.
“Blacksburg is a special place and it’s such a great community with a sense of togetherness,” said Grant Duncan, director of marketing at Virginia Tech. “When you’re in Blacksburg, you’re home.”
Thus began the “This is home” campaign by the school.
From car magnets to T-shirts to a hashtag, the campaign has helped build on a sense of community and a deeper connection with the Virginia Tech football program.
“We wanted people to have that Monday-morning feeling when they were back at work that they wished they were back at Lane Stadium, back at home,” added Duncan. “It all kind of tied together to create a sense of unity among our fans.
“It’s something our fans take ownership of now.”
And much like in UCF’s situation, the idea came from a coach.
Longtime Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster was talking about how special Blacksburg was to him. At the end of the interview, he got choked up and said, “This is home.”
“It was genuine and it was authentic,” Duncan said.
Uniform buzz
One of the more popular social-media posts for Oregon is the school’s weekly debut of its colorful football uniforms. With more than 500,000 different combinations available to the program with close ties to Nike, it’s one of the most anticipated posts each week in college sports.
“Obviously it’s something that we’re known for,” Pintens said. “So the challenge for us is to try and raise the bar as to how we do those types of reveals when we release it and make sure we build anticipation for it.
“That’s just the beginning, but we’re already brainstorming, ‘What can we do to take that next step?’ Because from our perspective, we want it to look good, we want it to be Oregon and we want it to be different. And if there is a new way to do it, we’re going to try to do it.”
One of the new things Oregon has done recently, according to Pintens, is hire a full-time model to showcase the different looks on the athletic department’s social-media sites. And it’s not just football. The school features unique uniforms for the basketball, baseball, golf and track teams on different social media channels.
Oregon isn’t the only school to take advantage of the growing interest in uniforms.
UCF took to Twitter recently to reveal its new football uniforms for the upcoming season.
Coaches join in
While social-media teams in athletic departments develop ideas, coaches also can have a major impact on the platforms.
Coaches have been embracing — whether openly or reluctantly — the trend of sharing information online.
Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh has developed a huge voice on Twitter. He can be found sharing his love for television shows such as Judge Judy or taking veiled shots at fellow coaches, including Alabama’s Nick Saban over comments on satellite camps. He entered preseason camp at the start of August with 732,000 followers.
Pitt’s Narduzzi posts stuff regularly on his Twitter account, @CoachDuzzPittFB, although he does have staff members occasionally help out with photos. His account has more than 43,700 followers.
“Some of the pictures and stuff I’ll have them get it on there for me, but I do a lot of tweeting myself or I’m saying I want this tweeted out,” he said.
Social media is now a part of our society, so Louisville has tried to use it to its advantage, according to coach Bobby Petrino.
“What we try to do with the fans is give them a feel for what’s going on here,” said Petrino, whose account is @CoachPetrinoUL. He pointed to the program’s use of photos and videos of players working out in the weight room or during spring football practice as an example.
“We try to get them excited all season long,” he said.
Coaches and programs aren’t just directing message to fans but to perspective recruits as well.
The NCAA allows athletic departments or coaches to follow and send private messages to recruits.
Thanks to a recent rule change, coaches can also “like” or favorite a recruit’s post. Schools and coaches, however, still cannot mention a recruit by name or nickname on a social-media post until he or she is signed.
When the rule change went into effect Aug. 1, college football coaches delivered a surge of likes and favorites on recruits Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
“I think there’s a lot to it and whether I’m a fan or like it, it really doesn’t matter. It’s the rules,” Florida coach Jim McElwain said. “So now being able to do it, it’s something that I think it’s the way a lot of people communicate today.
“I think to me, it’s a good thing, because you know how hard it is to probably enforce all that stuff if you’re the NCAA, really. So rather than try to enforce it, just embrace it and go with it.”
Does a like or favorite really matter?
Gators defensive lineman CeCe Jefferson said recruits can definitely learn a lot from something as simple as a like, favorite or retweet.
“That shows that they care about you,” Jefferson said.
He added it’s just one step in the recruiting process, but any opportunity to show players they matter can have an impact.
Better access
More and more programs are using social media as a sort of online all-access pass, giving fans inside looks at the programs.
“The best content that you can possibly have comes from coaches and student-athletes,” Pintens said of the growing trend. “Us telling the story is one thing, but the people who are actually participating is an entirely different animal.”
Everything appears to be fair game, from videos and photos of practices to pregame and postgame access to the teams in the locker room. It’s a never-before-seen access for the average fan.
With all the social buzz, how do schools take the next step to generate more buzz?
Pintens believes live online streaming is going to be the next big thing to watch for this season.
“You’re going to see more in the upcoming football season — live video is going to explode, not so much with the game itself but with press conferences and maybe even some looks into practices,” he said. “Those types of live video opportunities are going to happen more and more often. Not only from members of the media, but the teams will do it as well.”
