Professional franchises are the ones at the forefront of utilizing social media to promote their brand, but several college basketball teams are starting to follow suit. Here are the top five programs on Twitter:
5) Akron Zips
Akron doesn't have a huge fan base or a lot of followers on Twitter, but they had the clever idea of replacing player’s last names on their jerseys with their Twitter handles in an attempt to expand their fan base.
This was a smart attempt by a school with no big name players to try and promote themselves, but the request was denied by the NCAA. However, they do have the Twitter handles on their warmup jerseys, and that creative idea alone is enough to get them on this list.
4) Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky is one of the most prominent traditional powers in the college basketball world, and their Twitter account has helped fans capture the excitement of luring in countless five-star recruits and on-court success. They utilize a lot of interviews with the coaching staff and players to keep fans informed, as well as tweeting about how the many former Wildcats are doing in the NBA on any given night.
3) Michigan Wolverines
Although the Wolverines one of the largest fan bases in the country, Michigan still manages to connect on a personal level with fans. A quick scroll through @umichbball shows that Michigan is often retweeting fans, asking them questions, and supporting the city of Ann Arbor along with lively in-game updates.
2) Duke Blue Devils
It was only a matter of time until we went to Tobacco Road with something college basketball related. Their account links to the numerous shows and radio interviews head coach Mike Krzyzewski does, as well as any done by current or former players. Duke asks for a lot of fan engagement, gives constant game updates, and even help fans stay up to date with high schools recruits and commits who have yet to set foot on campus.
1) North Carolina Tar Heels
Carolina’s Basketball page is diverse and offers a lot giveaways and free ticket contests to keep fans engaged. Their Twitter handle offers links to UNC podcasts and live radio shows with head coach Roy Williams, keeping followers informed. UNC also provides updates on all current players, whether they're playing professional basketball or not.