ISU’s postgame videos draw big hits on Web

AMES - Iowa State's popular locker room videos started in March 2008 after a women's NCAA basketball tournament loss to Rutgers at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Video of Coach Bill Fennelly's postgame talk that night drew thousands of Web hits. The camera was rolling again during the Cyclones' Elite Eight run a year ago and ISU's behind-the-scenes work went nationwide this fall with football coach Paul Rhoads' talk at Nebraska.

The video - which ISU Director of Web Services Tyler Rutherford shot hiding in a locker - caught the attention of ESPN, which aired a clip of it on its “College Football Live” show. In its first week, the video was watched on YouTube about 230,000 times after appearing on ISU's site.

“Don't think that the recruiting class we just hauled in wasn't impacted by that,” said Steve Malchow, associate athletics director. “Most schools or organizations won't let you into that setting. It is letting people get close to your program in a way they are not accustomed.”

Smith and men's basketball contact Mike Green carry hand-held cameras on road trips and shoot video if the situation presents itself.

Rutherford or his staff handle coverage of home events and news conferences. Those who watch it live online pay a subscriber fee. It's available later at no cost.

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Coaches and athletes across the country frequent social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Men's basketball coach Greg McDermott values the impact it could have on prospective players, rather than informing the world what he's doing or had for breakfast. He's been tweeting for about a year now and has almost 1,400 followers.

“I felt like if one of two recruits chose to follow our program in that regard it would be worth it,” he said.

The 140-character updates are part of the job. Fennelly and his assistant coaches have Twitter accounts, and most of the updates are simple or silly in nature.

Not all of them are about his team.

“I'll talk about the (St. Louis) Cardinals or our men's team or the fans or whatever,” Fennelly said. “I don't enjoy it. It's part of the job ... There's nothing you can do now that someone doesn't know about.”

Updates and pictures are available for anyone with Web access.

Coaches and administrators are responsible for educating athletes about the potential pitfalls of social media. The message is simple: be careful in what aspects of your life are shared with the world.

Men's basketball players Craig Brackins and Diante Garrett post daily on Twitter.

“We try to get them to understand that what you post on there is there for everyone to see, and not just now,” McDermott said. “Down the road when you are trying to interview for a job, people can go back and look at what you wrote and how you present yourself.”

Fennelly does it for the greater good of the program.

“You recruit every day, you market every day or you die,” he said. “We are not just going to open the doors and have people show up. There's got to be something besides the product that ignites people's interest.”