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Writer's pictureDavid Siroty

More and More of the Same

Front Porch Athletics intern Seth Jones, a senior at Montclair State University, took a deep dive into how 5 more schools – of all sizes – utilized their Twitter accounts to share information.



Fairleigh Dickinson – Northeast Conference

Bowling is not normally a sport schools focus social media attention on, but I was surprised to see Fairleigh Dickinson do just that and I’ve enjoyed connecting to their team. The women’s bowling team is a national power and was gunning for a national title. But rather than only provide scores, FDU created a bunch of videos of them competing, fan and coaches reactions, and player interactions with their teammates. I also enjoyed a player profile video where we learned how one of their top performers decided to pursue a career in bowling and how it has impacted her life. If schools across the board were as creative as FDU has been with the bowling team, we would have less “game trap” content – only devoted to scores, highlights and players news – and instead focus more on storytelling


Hofstra University – Colonial Athletic Association

Hofstra University is mainly using their Twitter account to post scores and highlights therefore fell into the “game trap.” They post often but the content that they are posting has no personality and is not engaging to their current following or serving a benefit of attracting a new following. It was impossible for me to feel connected to any of their spring teams. There is no reason why Hofstra couldn’t provide more engaging content, drive student attendance and showcase talented players who have interesting backgrounds and do well in school to the Hofstra and Long Island communities.


Ohio State University – Big Ten

Ohio State has one of the most popular football and basketball programs in the nation, so they have a very large following on social media. While these sports are currently both out of season, we are able to get a look at the other sports that the university has to offer. In the month of April there has been a focus on baseball, tennis, and softball. Most of the content has been great plays and highlights of their teams. There are a few videos in other sports such as lacrosse where we got to see the behind-the-scenes of Senior Night. While a school this big will always have a big following, it is still important to engage the current fan base so that they don’t only support during the football and basketball seasons but support their entire department. Ohio State is a school that should have consistent and more engaging content.


University of Oregon – PAC 12

Oregon has a great group of teams at their disposal to make content, but from what I noticed in the early part of April, they were largely absent from Twitter. One post a day on April 1, 2, 8 11, 13, 16 and 18 was odd and several of those were about alumni. No features, no behind-the-scenes outside of their football Pro Day, no driving me to engage and potentially attend a spring sports event (if I lived near there). I didn’t even notice much hype for “Duck Day” Spring Football game on April 23. Later in the month, Oregon had a chance to introduce us three who were honored as Pac-12 Track Athletes of the Week. But all they provided were photos of all three. Oregon has the resources. Now it just needs some extra effort.


Texas A&M University - SEC

Texas A&M is a “game trap” school. While they post about a large variety of sports, none of the content shows the players in a way that connects with the audience. I don’t understand how a school with such resources and a huge athletic department could not be more focused on storytelling. The spring sports are powers, yet don’t have the same fan fervor as football and basketball. Therefore, storytelling would help drive engagement, attendance and further empower the athletic department

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