bsudailynews: @Coach_Eck Thxs for becoming 1 of the first Cards coach to start tweeting :)
After being at Ball State University for less than four months, offensive lineman coach Jason Eck has already started to distinguish himself from every other coach at university - at least in terms of using technology.
Of the more than 10 Ball State coaches and assistant coaches, Eck is the only Ball State football coach to have jumped on board the latest fad in social Web sites, Twitter.com, and create a Twitter account, Coach_Eck.
Twitter is a form of microblogging that allows its users to tweet - brief text updates of 140 characters or less. These updates can be published on the Web site and can be viewed by other people who follow the user - known in Twitter as "followers."
Having created a Twitter account about one month ago, Eck has less than 20 followers and has posted 11 updates, including updates about the Ball State staff golf outing and signing a new offensive lineman.
This is probably not the most impressive Twitter account, but its a start and something other BSU coaches need to do.
In addition to Eck, gymnastics coach Nadalie Walsh - NadalieWalsh - and women's golf coach Katherine Mowat - kvmo - each have Twitter accounts. Besides these coaches, though, the closest thing the Ball State athletics department has to a Twitter account is the person who created the account faketomcollins.
Twitter is increasingly popular with younger demographics the last 12 months and almost every organization has a type of Twitter account. With the NCAA not having regulations for Twitter - yet - this is a great device to communicate to high school recruits.
If a senior high school player who is considering Ball State has a great game this fall what better way to show the player that the school wants them than by hitting them up with a tweet?
Will using Twitter suddenly mean Ball State will have one of the top recruiting classes in the nation - probably not. However, using this new technology to communicate with recruits and let them know about the university will only help the Cardinals bring in more of the players they are targeting this year.
Ball State coaches are not the only college coaches using Twitter. Coaches ranging from the University of Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin to Penn State University men's volleyball coach Mark Pavlik have created Twitter accounts, and the amount of coaches using this Web site is continuing to increase.
It's a trend that has caught on throughout the nation, but needs to catch on in the Cardinals' athletics department.
In addition to the recruiting aspects, coaches are using Twitter to update fans about their team. Throughout the upcoming season Eck said he plans to post updates, including updates from the locker room before and after Ball State's games.
For Cardinals fans, is a great way to feel more a part of the team. Imagine sitting in the Schuemann Stadium stands five minutes before a game and receive a tweet on your phone from a Ball State coach.
These are the types of things every Ball State team should be doing, especially because it's free to create a Twitter account. With the university and athletics department potentially facing budget cuts because of the new state budget, this type of publicity maybe the cheapest way to let your fans and recruits know what is going on with each team.
bsudailynews:@Coach_Eck, @NadalieWalsh, @kvmo Great job tweeting, now convince the other BSU coaches to start tweeting. <3 @bsudailynews.
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