Social media is viewed as the primary means of communication for three out of four college athletes, coaches and staff members, according to results of a recent survey by a social media consultancy that works with college athletic programs and pro teams. That should serve as a wake-up call for ADs who have not yet included social media training among the requirements for athletes and athletic staff, said Carrie Gerlach Cecil, CEO of SM2, the company that produced the survey of more than 3,800 athletes and coaches in support of its program for online social media training targeted to college sports. “What we do is like drivers ed or sex ed for social media,” said Cecil, whose company offers customized training modules that athletes and staff members can complete at their own pace online. “Just say no didn’t work for sex education and it’s certainly not working for social media. We have to raise the bar. A really great guest speaker might do a terrific job of trying to load the student athlete up with information. But they’re so overloaded with multiple off-field programs -- diversity, mental wellness, Title IX and so many others -- that there’s so much going on that they can’t retain it all.”
HERE TO HELP: At this week’s NCAA convention, SM2 will announce funding assistance for 15 college athletic departments to provide its social media training to student athletes in the next 18 months, focusing on D-II programs and smaller D-I programs that have expressed interest but cited cost as a barrier. SM2’s services typically are priced in the low to mid five figures, annually. While Power Five programs such as TCU, Auburn and Texas Tech have signed on since the launch of the company 18 months ago, adoption among athletic departments with smaller budgets has been slow. Cecil said she hopes the funding assistance program, which is open to schools that show an interest and financial need, will prime the pump. “For us, half the battle is inspiring athletic directors and stakeholders within the institution to jump the curve and embrace the importance of this,” Cecil said. “That can be uncomfortable. We get that. This type of education didn’t exist three years ago. But as the ecosystem for social media grows and expands every day, we need to grow and expand how we’re educating athletes and athletic staff and coaches.”
