College Wednesday: Offseason Workouts = MTV Cribs of Recruiting?

Yes, they still have MTV Cribs on the air.  Here's a link to their site, where they are counting down the top 15 Teen Fab Pads.  Feel free to click for a moment -- I'll stick around and be here when you are back.

OK, glad you're back.

What was (and I guess is) great about MTV Cribs is that it gives you, the fan of an artist or athlete or actor the chance to see what it looks like inside their house, when no one is there except for that celebrity.  You can imagine what it's like to be them, in their world.  And you connect to them on a different level than before you watched the show.

That's what has struck me as amazing about this video.  Disclaimer:  It is not a polished show ala MTV Cribs.  But it gives you a look into the University of Portland hoops program.  You see what it is like in their house, when no one is around except the team and coaches.  You see how they are working out, not in the details, but in the style and intensity.  You see the facility.  You see the players and coaches interact.  And you see their gear.

Now, I stumbled onto this by reading Coach Eric Reveno's Twitter feed (link here).  And it was just that journey that had me wondering how schools can really create a connection with their potential recruits, with the families of current players, and with supporters of the program.

It really was kind of simple when you think about it -- a coach films the workouts and edits together a nice video.  It's posted on YouTube (here's their channel).  The head coach has a Twitter account and links to it, as hopefully do others in the university.  

Somewhere else, a recruit is considering this school.  They sign up to receive updates from the coach and get this link.  Suddenly they are able to visualize what it means to play in this program -- how the players interact, how hard they are pushed, and where they work out. Quickly, a connection is formed.

Somewhere else, a company is evaluating what kind of program they want to be affiliated with, to support.  They need to understand what the values are.  How hard players work.  Are they dedicated?  Is this program going to advance to the next level.  Videos like this show the inner workings of that engine.  Of the passion.  And connections are deepened.

I think we are just on the beginning.  Videos like this are quick to do, but thanks to the reach of Twitter and YouTube, they can have a monumental impact.