NCAA Says No To Akron Twitter Handle On Back Of Jersey

The NCAA said no to Akron having the team's twitter handle on the back of its jerseys Saturday. (theverge.com)

Social media's presence in college athletics, and across the world, continues to grow, but it may have reached its limit within college basketball.

The Akron Zips are having a social media night for their home game against Ohio Saturday in which the team announced Monday it was planning to have its @ZipsMBB twitter handle on the back of each jersey instead of the player's last name. The Zips first checked with the NCAA to see if it would allow the twitter jerseys and the NCAA said no and that it was not allowed. However, the Zips will still be able to show off the handle on their warm-up shirts in front of a nationally televised audience.

Coaches, players and the programs themselves are all over social media pages, and team hashtags are everywhere, even on the courts. In fact, Akron's court on Saturday will feature the hashtags #ZipsGameday and #ThinkBigger. Yet jerseys look to still be untouchable territory for Twitter.

It was a catchy and smart marketing campaign by the university to garner support. Media members such as CBS Sports' Jeff Goodman and ESPN's Jay Bilas even received customized jerseys with their handles on the back.

It was an interesting move by the NCAA to put its foot down, but as Bilas pointed out on Twitter, Akron is receiving even more attention from the NCAA rejecting the move than it would have if it was allowed to keep the jerseys.


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Five College Basketball Coaches Worth Following On Twitter

Fans love their college basketball teams' coaches. It makes perfect sense. The success of the team, which is a fan's No. 1 priority, rests on the shoulder of the coach, and coaches who find that success are kings of their campuses. Fan bases feel that connection with their coach. They defend him, criticize him and praise him, all because they want the best for their team.

Twitter has become the newest way for fans to connect with their coaches. Following a coach on Twitter gets you insight into their daily activities, news and thoughts on their team and, if you're lucky, a chance for them to answer your questions.

Many elite college basketball coaches have avoided the social media site, but many of the coaches on Twitter have used it to their advantage as a chance to see the coach's personality and, in many cases,  fans like them more.

Regardless of if you are fan of their team, here are five coaches (in no particular order) that are great to follow, for a variety of reasons.

Tim Miles (huskers.com)

Tim Miles - @CoachMiles - Nebraska
The former Colorado State head coach was a visionary in terms of his use of Twitter. While many coaches hesitate to share too much about their teams, especially in the hours surrounding games, Miles was tweeting his thoughts on his team's performance during halftime. It would be worth following him just to see his reaction in the heat of battle. But Miles shows more than that. Miles has found the perfect combination of talking about his team, exciting the fan base, interacting with followers and showing his sense of humor in non-basketball related tweets. If he can earn some wins at Nebraska, look for his followers to jump from the more than 21,000 he currently has.

Tom Crean (sports.yahoo.com)

Tom Crean - @TomCrean - Indiana
Crean's Twitter profile reflects a few of the traits that make him a successful coach. His motivation, knowledge of the game and passion toward the players he coaches is all evident in his profile. Crean's love of the university is prominent — he even breaks down some stats for the number junkies. The Indiana coach doesn't neglect the site either, as he has more than 4,300 tweets, showing his Twitter maintenance is not a half-hearted and forced responsibility. Indiana fans recognize this as Crean is one of the more popular coaches on Twitter with more than 83,000 followers.

Chris Mack (mensbasketballhoopscoop)

Chris Mack - @CoachChrisMack - Xavier
You don't have to be a Xavier fan, or even a basketball fan, to enjoy following Chris Mack. The coach has proven to be one of the funniest in the sport, with many of his entertaining tweets not pertaining to basketball. Mack talks about his family life, pop culture, asks questions and interacts with fans, as well as basketball writers. Mack shows a side that is down to earth and someone you would want to hang out with, which can be difficult for higher-profile figures.

Frank Martin (latimes.com)

Frank Martin - @FrankMartin_SC - South Carolina
Anyone who has watched Martin roam the sidelines or do an in-game interview knows why he is on this list. He is a passionate, energetic coach and makes great soundbites. What you will find from his Twitter profile is he really enjoys what he does, he takes great pride in educating and coaching, and he tries to raise awareness for his university. Like Crean, Martin shares words of motivation, mixed with the entertainment value you see in interviews.

John Calipari (nationofblue.com)

John Calipari - @UKCoachCalipari - Kentucky
With Kentucky's recent national title and the buzz about Calipari's method of turning freshmen into phenoms, it's no surprise coach Cal has more than 1.2 million followers. Everyone wants to know what goes on in Big Blue Nation, and Calipari takes his followers on that ride with more than 6,000 tweets. The majority of Cal's tweets are about his team or what he is up to that day, although with that job, those subjects are enough to keep his followers entertained.


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Welcome to Twitter, Kendall Marshall

The winner of basketball Twitter. (hornets247.com)

When the Phoenix Suns drafted North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall in the first round of the NBA draft back in June, the front office knew the team was getting a pass-first player who would happily facilitate for teammates. What Suns brass probably didn't know is that the No. 13 pick would be a revolutionary.

OK, "revolutionary" may be a bit much, but whoever wrote the Wikipedia entry about Marshall using the acronym "BTB" on Twitter used the word "groundbreaking."

For those not in the know about "BTB" — a group led by us all, at one time or another — it stands for "Been there, bro." The shortened term has been embraced by the basketball community on Twitter, where numerous bloggers and armchair pundits use it as a response to the thoughts of others. That sentence cannot do justice to the entertainment that BTB can bring, but the appropriate digging on the subject is not hard to do, and the discovery is a fun part of the journey.

As TrueHoop's Sean Highkin tweeted, "We have entered the twilight zone." By virtue of being the first to ask for a definition, Marshall became the first professional basketball player known to engage in BTB bandying. It is another example of how engrained social media is becoming in the world of pro sports and the increased interactivity of the celebrity/everyman dynamic in the new age of media.

Marshall's on-court performances during his rookie season, and perhaps several years into his career, will receive leeway from those in the BTB circle. He's part of the club now. One of his self-admitted detriments is trying too often to make The Big Play, but Marshall's already endeared himself to a swath of his new, pro-level audience.

As for that risky pass? btb.

(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

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