The Impact Facebook has on the Recruitment of University of Hawaii’s Student-Athletes’

Jordan J. Richartz

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Communication 479

Professor Wayne Buente

Abstract

Social media’s extraordinary impact on our culture has revolutionized the way individuals

communicate and socialize on the Web. Student athletes that attend and represent the University

of Hawaii at Manoa are local celebrities. With the spotlight predominantly fixated towards

Hawaii’s student athletes, impression administration is a vital key when using social networking

sites because student athletes retain the duty to represent and promote the university, as well as

their athletic program. The purpose of this study is to determine how student athletes, at the

University of Hawaii at Manoa, usage of Facebook influence the decisions of possible

prospective athletes. The study group consisted of 20 student athletes that currently attend the

University of Hawaii at Manoa who anonymously completed surveys. Analysis of the results

showed that Facebook usage of student athletes at the University of Hawaii at Manoa had no

significant impact/influence on prospective recruits. Noteworthy differences were discovered

between genders and their use of Facebook. While males lacked the essence to proactively

recruit themselves, females sought to take action in their own hands.

Introduction

Playing an intercollegiate sport adds a complex deposit to student life. Unlike regular students,

student athletes hold obligations to the coach, the team, the rules and regulations of the NCAA,

and their peers and fans. Student athletes possess distinct characteristics that have an intangible

impact on others with their use of social media, specifically Facebook. Student athletes, at the

University of Hawaii at Manoa, are extremely visible to the public eye. This marks their duty to

represent the university, as they are the most identifiable spokespeople for hundreds of thousands

of university alumni and fans.

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Facebook is not the only platform for attaining to today’s young prospective athletes. Other

social networking sites, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, all possess the same tools as Facebook, but

are not nearly as popular. With a commanding comprehension of the latest technology,

universities and coaches are encouraged to make an effort to reform their recruiting methodology

especially at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. With the accessibility of video upload on almost

every social media outlet, prospective athletes are excessively promoting themselves through

online interaction. Whether it is reaching out to coaches or current athletes on Division I teams,

prospective athletes anticipate online interface.

As student athletes represent an acute sector of a larger community, they are the central agent for

online activity. Student athletes’ user generated content on social media affects all users, which

is why they must manage a reputable status. Their roles on social media platforms can have a

resounding impact on their athletic team and program. Whether it is impressing fans and alumni

or impressing prospective athletes, student athletes retain the ability to embody and structure

their athletic programs for future star recruits to continue their legacy.

Literature Review

Social media impacts recruitment

It is quite evident that college recruiting has become a commodity in intercollegiate sports since

the phenomena of social media. It is a structure of business fashion that spends millions of

dollars each year to captivate the highest-rated prospects to a university. It is vital for universities

to establish constructive and productive athletic programs, for it is one of the top sources of

income for a university. This ultimately justifies why universities spend countless amounts of

dollars assembling teams (recruiting specialists, recruiting advisors, data analysts, social media

analysts, and coaches) to yield insight into the elements that appeal to prospective athletes.

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Universities are relentlessly searching for ambitious advantages that will drive their programs

into nationwide height.

Social networking platforms have garnered unbelievable reach and user ship, especially among

the young-adult age demographic [5]. For this reason, social media has endlessly altered the way

recruiting is designed. Traditionally, recruiting almost always started with one’s high school

coach. With the amplitude of social media, the recruitment course is modified because social

media presents an easy and accessible channel for contacting and essentially collecting

knowledge about any valuable information that benefits one’s situation. For coaches, social

media provides a direct and effortless connection to their desired players. This takes stress off of

coaches and potential student athletes because social networking sites facilitate face-to-face

interaction. Most, if not all, teenagers are excessive social media users, what better way to

contact someone in a setting that almost guarantees comfort? For student athletes, social media

presents a simplified medium to service one’s self. By heightening one’s social profile on their

social networking site, social media can be used as an instrument to get recruited.

Coaches & Athletes using social media for recruitment

Social media is a prevalent tool in Division I coaches lives. Whether it is publicly acclaiming

their program or conducting detailed evaluations of prospective athletes’ social networking

accounts, social media needs to be embraced by coaches to ensure quality recruits. Matt Dudek,

University of Arizona football head coach, is an avid social media user for many reasons. ‘“The

power of social media is really second to none in recruiting. Back in the day, it used to be hand-

written letters and the coach calling you. That’s all still relevant, but social media is 24/7/365. If

a kid wakes up at 3 a.m. and scrolls through his phone, finds something and clicks on it, then

we’re recruiting while we’re sleeping”’ [11]. Dudek is necessarily promoting his program to

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install the Arizona brand in recruits’ brains. It is brilliant. Sending a message via Facebook is

comparable to sticking a permanent note in the recruit’s hand. Of the countless amount of

Facebook users, majority of those users configured their accounts to their mobile devices making

any message they receive via Facebook that much more accessible. Imagine the competitive edge

Dudek has on rival programs. This goes hand-in-hand with the approach of prospective athletes’

that are pursuing their dream to play at the next level.

The vast amount of student athletes, at all levels, should not be a surprise to anyone. With 1.1

billion Facebook users worldwide, student athletes only represent an acute fraction compared to

the general population [6]. In a study involving 2,821 high school recruits, majority of the

recruits use social media on a daily basis with Facebook being the most popular [4]. With social

media present, one should take advantage of the assets available. Whether it is the coach

reaching out to a recruit or a recruit reaching out to a coach, social media grants viable options

for both parties, it is up to whomever wants to capitalize on the situation at hand. “82% of male

recruits responded that it would be ok for a coach to contact them through Facebook” [4].

Depending on the caliber of the recruit, if one does not possess a high rating they most likely

need to initiate contact with the coach; if one does possess a significant rating, it is up to the

coach to contact them. Of course, there are always restrictions in regards to when and how a

coach or recruit can contact one another. If one manages to improperly use or violate NCAA

policies, the recruit and university can face severe infractions and sanctions from the NCAA.

NCAA policies

It is unmistaken that the NCAA bestows rules and policies generating ample controversy. For

example, before Facebook there was text messaging. Text messaging was the new sensation for

communication between coaches and recruits. As the NCAA reasoned that the coaches pushed

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the rules too far, they acted promptly to ban all text messages from coaches to recruits [8]. It is

quite comical that the NCAA saw fit to discourse the topic of texting, but unsuccessfully

disregard other types of advantageous technology that is inevitably unregulated.

“NCAA Rule 13.4.1.2, states, ‘Electronically transmitted correspondence that may be sent to a

prospective student-athlete (or the prospective student-athlete’s parents or legal guardians) is

limited to electronic mail and facsimiles. All other forms of electronically transmitted

correspondence (e.g., Instant Messenger, text messaging) are prohibited’’ [8]. This is unsettling

because text messaging and Facebook messaging are undoubtedly identical. It would be

humiliating if a coach violated the rule stated above using a text messenger. The NCAA is

virtually endorsing Facebook.

Impact social media has on prospective students

Universities are using social media outlets as engines for the recruitment of students. Social

networking sites establish an online supply that targets users who occupy an interest or activity.

Since the youth of America widely associate themselves with platforms like Facebook,

universities, more specifically admission officers, use this marketing tool to gain insight and

knowledge about the prospective student prior to them being admitted into the university.

Universities are also using social media outlets to promote their academic programs, facilities,

campus, and housing. Properly used, universities can implement a consolidated approach across

multiple departments to create a better student experience.

Social media has become such an advantageous marketing tool that the most prestigious

universities are adopting practices to entice prospective students. Developing a strategy to attract

recruits and engage with potential students on social media has profoundly enhanced digital

communications for student recruitment. The best practice for digital advertising is “acquiring

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potential students, engaging with them, driving them to submit inquiries and applications, and

finally converting them into enrollments” [7]. It is now common for admissions to hand-off

social media strategy to student services because it is easier for current students to appeal to

incoming students.

Admissions departments believe that the adoption of social media ranks highly for strategic

purposes. Admission officers are using search engines and social networking platforms to

authenticate data of students who were applicants for scholarships or entry into high-demand

programs with limited space. “It is clear that online behavior can have important consequences

for young people and that social networking sites can, and will be utilized by others to make

decisions about them.” To amplify value, universities must learn and adapt to rules of

engagement [1]. This will assist universities in selecting the best male and female applicants

equipped to outstandingly represent their program.

Gender Differences in use of social media

Social networks, specifically Facebook, supplement assembly among individuals with common

attentions. In a study conducted to find gender differences by their use of social networks,

significant differences were discovered between males and females in their Facebook usage

purposes. “Females use Facebook for ‘maintaining existing relationships’, ‘academic usage’, and

‘following agenda’ more than males do while males only use Facebook for ‘making new

relationships’ more than the females” [10]. Facebook is a means of social searching. People

inherently use Facebook to find out about other individuals in a discreet practice. According to

research, females do not unveil defining characteristics about themselves to people they do not

really know. “Social influence on the decisions of females is higher than personal decisions

while personal decisions are more dominant over social influence in males” [10]. Despite the

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dissimilarity in culture (Turkey vs. America), it is quite surprising that there is an ample

difference in Facebook use among genders.

Another study conducted, women far exceed men in the time they spend on social media.

“Undergraduate females in this study reported spending almost 62% of their Internet time on

Facebook compared to 44% for the males. Furthermore, there were significant differences in the

percentage of females versus males who were ‘heavy’ Facebook users (more than one hour per

day) and in the minutes spent daily examining others’ Facebook profiles (females – 24 minutes;

males – 10 minutes)” [9]. According to this data, it seems that females are drastically dependent

on Facebook compared to males. Men turn to social media for business reasons more than

women do, while women are naturally equipped for social interaction. Overall, female usage

outweighs the usage of males in terms of social media.

Research Question

How does student athletes’ use of Facebook impact prospective athletes recruitment and their

decision to attend University of Hawaii at Manoa?

Methodology

This study uses data collected from student athletes that currently attend the University of

Hawaii at Manoa. I personally employed a hard copy survey to twenty Division I student

athletes, at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who participated in the survey. Of the twenty

student athletes’, ten males and ten females participated, with grade levels that ranged from

freshmen to senior, and included eight different sports (Females: soccer, sand volleyball, track

and field, tennis, and cheer. Males: football, baseball, and volleyball).

Simple random sampling was the procedure expended in this study. As the student athlete

population is relatively small and readily available at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, I

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randomly selected participants as they walked through the door of the Nagatani Center for

athletes. The first ten males and the first ten females that walked through the door of the

Nagatani Center were participants of this study, filling out paper-pencil-questionnaires. The

survey instrument consisted of sixteen questions measuring demographics, Facebook use, and

the impact it had on their decision to attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I used some of

the Facebook Intensity scale to measure Facebook usage frequency and its integration into

individuals’ daily activities.

Findings

In finding the frequency of Facebook use among participants, we find that 55% of participants

strongly agree and agree that Facebook is apart of their everyday activity. Of the 11 participants

who agreed Facebook was apart of their everyday activity, 7 were females.

Male Female0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Strongly disagreeDisagreeNeitherAgreeStrongly agree

Graph 1: Facebook Intensity scale, Facebook apart of everyday activity

Surprisingly, when asked if participants were proud to tell people they are on Facebook, 60% of

all participants answered ‘neither agree or disagree.’ After uncovering participants’ use of

Facebook, we transition to the influence Facebook has on prospective athletes. We find that 70%

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of participants did not follow University of Hawaii’s Facebook athletic page prior to their

commitment. With this statistic in mind, 75% of participants did not follow a University of

Hawaii coach on Facebook.

Male Female0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Closely FollowBarely FollowedDid not follow

Graph 2: Following University of Hawaii coach

This may explain why a University of Hawaii coach reached out to only 25% of participants.

In discovering how student athletes’ usage of Facebook influences prospective athletes, we find

that there is no significance data that suggests that student athletes usage of Facebook influences

or attracts prospective athletes to the University of Hawaii at Manoa. For example, when

participants were asked if they friend requested current student athletes of University of Hawaii

at Manoa, 13 of the 20 participants responded ‘yes.’

Yes No0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

MaleFemaleTotal

Graph 3: Friend request University of Hawaii student athletes on Facebook, prior to commitment

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Of those 13, 9 were females. After finding the mean of what extent student athletes impacted

their decision to attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa, “1” being no impact and “10” being

the most impact, participants generated a mean of 5.46. When I examined genders individually,

males yielded a mean of 5 and females yielded a mean of 5.11.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 100

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

MaleFemale

Graph 4: Scale measurements of impact of student athletes that accepted friend request on Facebook

Of the students that friend requested current student athletes were asked if those current student

athletes Facebook posts made the University of Hawaii at Manoa more or less appealing, 50% of

participants answered ‘more appealing.’

More Appealing Neither More or Less Appealing

Less Appealing N/A0

2

4

6

8

10

12

MaleFemaleTotal

Graph 5: University of Hawaii student athletes’ posts make university more or less appealing

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Subsequently, I found that four participants who scaled a low score for the impact of current

student athletes’ they friend requested, also said that those current student athletes’ posts made

the school more appealing. Also, I found that one participant who scaled a high score for the

impact of current student athletes’ they friend requested, also said that those current student

athletes’ post made the school less appealing.

Discussion

This study revealed that there is no significant data that supports the use of Facebook, among

student athletes at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, impacts/influences prospective athletes.

The data that was presented found that the majority of student athletes at the University of

Hawaii at Manoa are everyday users. Despite their shortage to proudly tell people they are active

Facebook users, females seemed to be the most active on Facebook for they far exceed men in

the time they spend on Facebook shown in Lougheed and Thompson’s study, “there were

significant differences in the percentage of females versus males who were ‘heavy’ Facebook

users (more than one hour per day) and in the minutes spent daily examining others’ Facebook

profiles (females – 24 minutes; males – 10 minutes)” [9]. As Facebook provides users with a

chance to interconnect with whomever they please, female participants utilized this platform

better than male participants. Correspondingly, Lougheed and Thompson, reported that females

spend 62% of their Internet time on Facebook [9]. This exemplifies why 90% of females friend

requested current student athletes prior to committing to the University of Hawaii at Manoa. It is

assumed that females are more aware and interested in getting to know people and their opinions

they have about the university prior to committing. This explicates that females are more

cautious of their surroundings versus males.

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As for properly utilizing social media outlets for personal benefit, females used Facebook to

reach out to current student athletes to receive vital information regarding the program and

school. I know that prior to my commitment, I had friends that were on the baseball team, and

they advised me not to attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I never asked “why?” I never

followed a coach or the university athletic page. I was just too excited to get out of the house and

start a new chapter of my life. I now know why they told me not to come. After being in the

program for two full years, I have noticed the many flaws the university and athletic program

possess. I will not go into details, but it is depressing that such a beautiful place like this lacks so

many useful things. I believe it is time for a change in recruiting methods, and that starts with

promoting the program through social media.

With 70% of participants not following University of Hawaii’s Athletic page on Facebook and

75% of participants not following a coach’s Facebook page, how must a prospective athlete get

recruited? Since the NCAA does not ban the use of Facebook messaging, it is shocking to see

that the majority of participants and coaches did not exploit this networking tool. After

conducting this study and reviewing University of Hawaii’s athletic program in terms of

winning, it is quite evident that the university is certainly failing in this area. With the high

amount of prospective athletes active on Facebook and the lack of activeness the University of

Hawaii coaches are, it only makes sense to deem their recruiting methods as a joke. Coaches that

control programs that are reasoned as powerhouse’s, are in every way exploiting the use of social

media for recruitment.

The most prestigious universities are using social media to recruit prospective students. I am not

sure what approach the University of Hawaii at Manoa is taking towards recruiting the most well

rounded students, but they are certainly failing in this aspect as well. The technology is present,

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majority of all students actively use the technology, why is the University of Hawaii not

capitalizing on this new era of promotion and recruiting? That is up to the university to answer.

Since my years here are completed, I retain the responsibility to act accordingly to enhance the

recruiting efforts for admission and athletics.

Conclusion

Facebook has revolutionized the way coaches and prospective athletes communicate with one

another. With the accessibility of social networking sites at an all time high, prospective athletes’

pose for many options of establishing direct connection with coaches. This study showed that

there is no direct correlation between current student athletes’ Facebook use and prospective

athletes’ decision to attend the University of Hawaii. Despite University of Hawaii’s poor efforts

to utilize social networking tools, respected universities all over the country use and successfully

operate over the Internet. This allows universities and prospective student athletes and students

to communicate over the most widely used channel, the Internet, to promote and recruit

themselves.

The limitations I faced when conducting this study was the limited amount of participants to

complete the survey that was employed. The Nagatani Center, an athletic study facility for

University of Hawaii at Manoa athletes, was the location where the surveys were administered.

As I expected there would be multiple athletes using the facility, there was a minimal amount of

student athletes that entered the Nagatani Center over the three-day period of data collection.

This had an immense effect on my initial findings because as one can tell, there is no significant

data that stands out. After gathering all of my data, I found errors within participants’ answers.

They were asked if they followed/friend requested any University of Hawaii student athletes’ on

Facebook, if they answered ‘yes’ they were supposed to write to what extent those student

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athletes’ impacted their decision. The following question then asked if their Facebook posts

made the university more or less appealing. I found that the impact measurements did not

correlate to their answers of question #15. Some participants who rated a low score for the

impact of friend requesting student athletes answered ‘more appealing.’ This caused confusion

when gathering data. As for that, one of the biggest limitation’s I faced was using actual

participants that were undergoing the recruitment process. I used current Division I athletes to

collect data, which means they answered the majority of the questions on the survey by memory.

This could have affected my findings because the NCAA could have altered/issued new rules

and the participants’ usage patterns on Facebook could have dramatically changed since they

were last in high school.

After conducting this study, I feel it is completely necessary to expand research to reputable

universities with a heightened athletic stature. Since University of Hawaii is not inevitably

labeled as a powerhouse in terms of athletics, I firmly believe that it limits the overall recruiting

process. For example, Alabama Football is expected to bring in one of the most talented

recruiting classes every year. They certainly use Facebook as a means of recruiting or at least

getting in contact with a desired player. If I cannot develop research outside of Hawaii, focused

research will go towards proper ways to successfully and legally use social media platforms to

enhance recruiting process. This could greatly benefit the University of Hawaii at Manoa for it

could alleviate current financial issues, resulting in a better atmosphere in and out of the

classroom for students athletes and students and teachers and faculty members.

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References

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[3] Barnes, N., & Mattson, E. (2009). Social Media: Considerations and Implications in CollegeAdmission. Retrieved May 3, 2015, from http://www.nacacnet.org/research/publicationsresources/marketplace/documents/rptbrief_socialmedia.pdf

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[7] Foulger, M. (2014, June 25). Higher Education Success: How 3 Universities use Social.Retrieved May 10, 2015, from http://blog.hootsuite.com/higher-education-success-stories-3-leading-universities/

[8] Knipp, Joshua Townsend & Miller, Michael Ryan (April 7, 2009). Finding a Balance:Advocating a Long-Term Solution to the NCAA’s Battle with Technology in Recruiting.North Carolina Bar Association Sports & Entertainment Newsletter, Vol. 9, No. 1. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1374593

[9] Lougheed, E., Thompson, Sharon H. (March 2012). Frazzled by Facebook? An Exploratory Study of Gender Differences in Social Network Communication among UndergraduateMen and Woman. College Student Journal, 46(1), 88-98. Retrieved fromhttp://hompi.sogang.ac.kr/jinhwakim/mis/hw7_facebook.pdf

[10] Mazman, G., Usluel, Y. (2011). Gender Differences in Using Social Networks. The TurkishOnline Journal of Educational Technology, 10(2). Retrieved from

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http://www.tojet.net/articles/v10i2/10214.pdf

[11] Staples, A. (2015, February 16). Punt, Pass & Pork: How social media is revolutionizingrecruiting. Retrieved May 6, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/02/16/recruiting-social-media-punt-pass-pork

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