4/13/15 Social Media

NCAA Rules regarding Social Media Electronic correspondence (e.g., electronic mail, Instant Messenger, facsimiles, text messages) may be sent to a prospective student-athlete (or the prospective student-athlete’s parents or legal guardians). Before a prospective student-athlete has signed a National Letter of Intent or the institution’s written offer of admission and/or financial aid, or the institution has received his or her financial deposit in response to its offer of admission, the correspondence must be sent directly to the prospective student-athlete (or his or her parents or legal guardians) and must be private between only the sender and recipient (e.g., no use of chat rooms, message boards or posts to “walls”). (See Bylaws and ) There are no content restrictions on attachments to electronic correspondence, except that video and audio materials must conform to the requirements of Bylaw , may not be created for recruiting purposes and may not be personalized to include a prospective student-athlete’s name, picture or likeness.

Timing: Once a PSA has signed an NLI or written offer of admission and/or financial aid, or the institution has received a financial deposit in response to an offer of admission, there are no restrictions on electronic communications. In general, one can’t communicate electronically until September 1 st of the PSA junior year. Men’s Basketball- June 15 after their sophomore year. Coach Initiation or Acceptance of a Request: Coaches are permitted to initiate or accept a “friend” or “follow” request to a PSA (or his/her parents) through social networking sites at any time, including prior to the first permissible date to send electronic correspondence, even if the social networking site sends an automatically-generated electronic notification and a no additional communication is included.

Facebook Permissible Impermissible Send a inbox message Other sports after Sept.1 MBB after June 15 of the PSA sophomore year Friending any PSA, their parent or legal guardian Current SAs may initiate and accept a PSA’s friend request Post a link to permissible recruiting item per Bylaw via a Facebook inbox message (questionnaires, camp brochures, non-athletics institutional publications and NCAA educational material). Chat/instant message Communicating with a PSA in the public’s view (wall to wall) May not like a PSA’s coach or team’s page as that would constitute an endorsement Post a link to a permissible recruiting item per Bylaw on a PSA’s “wall” (questionnaires, camp brochures, non-athletics institutional publications and NCAA educational material).

Twitter/Instagram Permissible Impermissible Following and being followed by a PSA Send a direct message to a PSA after Sept. 1 st for all other sports; MBB after June 15 th of their sophomore year. Coach may tweet about generic information including locations visited ( e.g., visit to a high school or town, attending a contest). May post a photo on Instagram Instructing a prospect to sign up for Twitter Sending direct message prior to Sept. 1 st or June 15 th A coach or institutional staff member may not use the function on a PSA’s page. This includes “mentions,” and wall-to-wall Facebook communication. A coach/staff may not alter the content of photos(e.g., adding the name of a recruit to the back of a jersey). May not repost a PSA’s Instagram photo, comment, or like a picture from a PSA

General Social Media Guidelines Permissible Impermissible Make general comments regarding recruiting including locations visited (e.g., "Excited to be traveling to Florida to watch some games”, names of high schools, tournaments, towns, area codes). Confirm/deny recruitment of a PSA in response to an inquiry by the media. Publicly comment (e.g., Tweet, Facebook Wall post) on a PSA’s athletics ability, the contribution they may make to the team, the likelihood of the PSA signing with UNCW or a PSA’s verbal commitment to attend UNCW.

Hypo #1 A.J., volleyball coach at UNCW, sends a tweet congratulating Jennifer Mallard, a high school volleyball coach who A.J. has known for years, on winning the state championship. Permissible or Impermissible? Impermissible

Hypo #2 After having a great official visit to UNCW, Eric Jenkins, top baseball player in the state, posts a picture on Instagram with Coach Scalf, quote: “I had a great time at UNCW!” #UNCW #OmaHawks. Coach Scalf likes the photo. Permissible or Impermissible? Impermissible

Are these photos permissible?

Hypo #3 A PSA writes to you on your Facebook Wall, telling you about their amazing athletic talent and wants to know more about your program. How would you respond?