NCAA vs. Snapchat

Last post about Snapchat for a while, I promise!

I don't know about you, but when I first saw that universities using Snapchat I thought it was pretty awesome, especially the sports part. Then I began thinking about seeing those images and videos from a prospective student-athletes view. Even more awesome!

Everyone knows that the NCAA has ridiculous rules and regulations when it comes to recruiting (and everything else). Since Snapchat is so new, they didn't have any regulations in place for this new communication tool.

On February 10, 2014, the NCAA published the new policy in its educational column. Guess what it said...

"In basketball and men's ice hockey, any type of electronically transmitted correspondence (e.g., e-mail, facsimile, instant message, text message, SnapChat, etc.) may be sent to a prospective-student athlete, provided the correspondence is sent directly to the prospective student-athlete (or his or her parents or legal guardians) and is private between the sender and recipient. Once a prospective student-athlete signs a NLI or an institution's written offer of admission and/or financial aid or after the institution receives a financial deposit from the prospective student-athlete in response to the institution's offer of admission, the institution may communicate publicly with that prospective student-athlete."

Coaches can now use Snapchat to recruit.

As a student-athlete, this now gives you the opportunity to see just about everything you would on a visit and more. It's also a scandal waiting to happen because the NCAA is unable to regulate and monitor it.

My Favorite Snapchat Accounts

I know I've already talked about Snapchat in my first post (College GameDay Live (on Snapchat)), but I'm a huge fan of how teams and even universities are utilizing this platform.

So I made a list of my 4 favorite Snapchat accounts and why they're awesome.

1. University of Michigan (uofmichigan)

This was one of the first university/team accounts that I followed. Personally, I almost always look to Michigan for examples of successful social media campaigns (not just Snapchat). This account features events on campus such as fairs and sporting events. They also do a lot of t-shirt giveaways where students have to locate them by following the Snapchats. Michigan also asks for users to interact with them by asking for specific Snaps (see below):

Source: http://socialmedia.umich.edu/blog/snap-to-the-victors/

You can see all the Snaps they reposted here: http://socialmedia.umich.edu/blog/snap-to-the-victors/

2. Pittsburgh Penguins (penguins)

I may be a little biased with this one because I'm from Pittsburgh. But if you follow the Pens on Snapchat you might agree with me on this one.

Prior to the beginning of the season, the Pens do a season-ticket delivery. Players show up to fans homes to hand deliver the tickets and hangout for a while. This year, the deliveries could be seen on their Snapchat story. The Snaps included photos and videos of the players and families. The pictures on the right are a few examples featured on the story.

The Pens do a great job covering events outside of games. Snapchat is a quick and easy way to share content with users.

One more reason why I really like the Pens Snapchat is because they now have geofilters! Woo! Unfortunately I could only find one picture online and haven't been to a game so I haven't experienced it myself. So here is an example of one of the geofilters (right). This one features Iceburgh, the Pens mascot. 

3. Philadelphia Eagles (eagles)

Yes, I just listed the Eagles after a Pittsburgh team. I'm not saying I'm an Eagles fan. I'm just a fan of their Snapchat. Moving on...

The Eagles are always on their Snapchat game. Like most sports teams, they post a lot of content leading up to games. However, one thing that I think is really cool about what they do is they are on the field during warm-ups taking pictures and videos of the players. They also post a lot of witty captions with their photos and videos.

They give the fans what they want: all-access to their favorite team.

If you're an Eagles fan, following them is a must.

If you want to see some of their Snaps, check out their gallery here: Eagles Snapchat Gallery

4. Major League Baseball (mlb)

I just started following the MLB on Snapchat a few months ago and became a huge fan. They just started utilizing the platform earlier this year around spring training time. I think this appeals to fans because they cover all major games and once again give the fans what they want: all-access and behind-the-scenes. Images and videos from the locker rooms and BP, who wouldn't want to see that? I think they chose a great time to join the world of Snapchat and can't wait to see what they have in store for the World Series. Below are some examples of the MLB Snapchat:

Back in April, Mashable did a Q&A with the league's social-media producer, Hali Stark. Check out the article here: Next Up to Bat for Major League Baseball? Snapchat

They also integrated geofilters for all of the playoff games!


Have a favorite sports team that you follow on Snapchat? Leave a comment below!