As technology continues to evolve, recruiting techniques follow the same curve. Ball State University football assistant coach Jason Eck is trying to stay ahead of the pack with his Twitter account.
"Hopefully, it can set me apart from other coaches recruiting in the same area as I am," Eck said.
Eck said he signed up for the social networking site in late May and has been increasing the frequency of his tweets.
Twitter is currently the only social networking site to not fall under NCAA regulations, with limitations having been set on both MySpace and Facebook, as well as a ban on text messaging.
Eck is following the growing trend of college coaches who are using Twitter as a recruiting tool. To date, only one college football coach has received a violation for misusing Twitter. University of Tennessee head coach, Lane Kiffin violated NCAA rules by revealing the name of a recruit in a tweet before the recruit had signed a National Letter of Intent.
Eck said he has a tech-savvy friend who is also a coach that told him to get a Twitter so he could market the team better and set himself apart from other recruits.
Currently, Eck is one of six football coaches in the Mid-American Conference with a Twitter. The head coaches from Central Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University, Western Michigan University, Miami University and the University of Toledo also have Twitter accounts.
Though he has a Twitter, Eck said he is still learning the ropes and is hoping he will have tweeting down to an art by the beginning of the season in late August.
"I hope to get it up and running, so it will be ready for the fall," Eck said. "The summer is a slower time for recruiting, but I see it being more of a tool in the fall because I'll be able to talk to the recruits more."
During the regular season, Eck said he will most likely tweet before games and in the locker room after games, but will not be tweeting during games like other coaches have said they will do this season.
One of Eck's recent tweets from June 17 said, "Just had a Big-Time guy from Chicago on campus. He is close to pulling the trigger." This is well-within NCAA regulations, as is his tweet from June 19, "Big Day..........1st O-Lineman in the class of '10 is in the boat. We are fired up about it."
Unlike some coaches who have other people on their staff update their Twitter's for them, Eck said he will do it himself, and not all of his tweets are geared toward recruits in particular. For Father's Day, Eck tweeted a shout out to fathers and also tweeted about teaching his sons how to ride bikes without training wheels.
While Eck is the only football coach at Ball State with a Twitter, he is not the only coach in the athletics department with one. Women's golf coach Katherine Mowat and gymnastics coach Nadalie Walsh both have Twitters as well.
Beside Twitter, the only other social networking site Eck belongs to is qbsociety. He said qbsociety was set up to work like Facebook but within NCAA regulations. Currently, it is used by coaches and some recruits to network. While many coaches do have Facebook pages, Eck said he will not be joining the Facebook community in the near future.
"Facebook ends up being more time consuming to upkeep, but doing a Twitter only takes a minute out of my day," Eck said. "And one of the challenges with Facebook is you have to decide if it's a personal page or a professional one. I know some coaches that only have recruits as friends but not college buddies, but I also know coaches that won't accept recruits as friends. On Twitter, you can post what you want."
There has been a cloud of speculation around Twitter as to whether it will be regulated by the NCAA or not and Eck is skeptical about the future of Twitter with recruiting.
"I think there is a lot of novelty to it right now, but I don't think this is something that is going, unless the NCAA regulated it like they did texting," Eck said. "But I think it's here for awhile until something takes its place."
Eck and other coaches around the country are discovering that their Twitters are being followed increasingly by more than just recruits.
"College coaches saw it initially as a recruiting tool, but it's also becoming more of a way to connect with the fan base," Eck said. "Hopefully, it will eventually become a link for both. Twitter also has a place in the media. It gives people direct quote. You can't be misquoted from a Twitter."
Eck said he thinks it is important to stay up with current technology because teens are very technologically savvy.
"How a kid can connect with you online is key," Eck said. "Your school Web site and athletics site better be nice. It's something that can give you an edge over other coaches."
While Eck is the only coach on the football staff that currently has a Twitter, he said he isn't going to push for the entire staff to get them.
"Technology is a neat thing," Eck said. "I try to be as tech savvy as I can, but I'm not at the point where I'm savvy enough to recommend it to all the other coaches."
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