Date of Award

2024

Type

Thesis

Major

Communication - Communication Studies Track

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Department

Communication Department

First Advisor

Dr. Ramesh Rao

Second Advisor

Dr. Kisum Kim

Third Advisor

Dr. Tiffany McBride

Abstract

Social and digital media integration has revolutionized the landscape of college football recruiting, offering innovative tools and strategies to enhance recruitment. Modern technology, including platforms such as X and Hudl, facilitates direct communication between high school athletes and college coaches. At the same time, companies like Route and RosterSpot employ data science and machine learning to optimize player-college matches. These technologies enable coaches to discover talent more efficiently and foster a personalized athlete recruiting experience (Booton, 2020). Additionally, social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat have become essential tools in the NCAA recruiting process, allowing for real-time updates, extensive networking opportunities, and increasing visibility of athletes’ profiles, significantly influencing recruitment decisions (Hanson, 2023). Practical advice for aspiring college athletes emphasizes the importance of leveraging highlight videos and maintaining active social media profiles to attract the attention of college recruiters, particularly for athletes from smaller schools (Smith, 2017). Integrating social and digital media into recruitment has democratized access to college football programs, enabling high school athletes to showcase their skills and connect more effectively with college coaches. This research aims to understand digital and social media’s impact on recruitment processes within Georgia’s NCAA Division 1 football programs. By focusing on how recruitment staff in these programs identify and recruit high school football players, the study will examine how different platforms cater to various recruitment needs, such as utilizing a particular media platform to showcase facilities and programs or engaging with players on other platforms. As technology continues to evolve, its role in shaping the future of college football recruitment will only become more pronounced.1

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