Long: Razorback Athletics Will Be Getting More ‘Social’

The most recent “Web Chat with Jeff Long” video was released on Friday and, with it, some interesting comments were made by the Arkansas Vice Chancellor and Athletic Director on the topic of social media.

After giving accolades for the accomplishments of the Razorback spring sports teams (gymnastics, golf, outdoor track, baseball), Long was asked about sites such as Twitter and Facebook:

“We can’t overlook it.  [People] are looking for that direct connect between us — administrators, coaches, student athletes.

“They don’t want it filtered through the media outlets…some people.  That’s what social media gives them the opportunity to do.

“We need to do more with it.  We’re going to do more with it.  It’s where things are headed and we need to be a part of that for our fan base.”

Long even revealed for the first time that he has his own Twitter account and plans to start using it in the future.

Perhaps coincidentally, one of the first Razorback head coaches to begin updating Twitter started on Friday evening.  Swimming coach Jeff Poppell (@jeffpoppell) made his first few ‘tweets’ about three Razorback swimmers who will soon be competing in the World Championships in Rome.

Will Petrino or Pelphrey be following soon?  Only time will tell, but Long recognized the growing importance that social media sites like Twitter are playing in the recruitment of future student athletes.  Communicating with these new tools, Long said, was “second nature to them (young people).”

You can see the entire video web chat with Long here on RazorVision.  And you can, of course, follow us ‘blogging the Hogs’ through @RazorBloggers on Twitter or by becoming a ‘fan’ of our page on Facebook.