SEC Head Football Coaches on Twitter
Now that we’re midway into the 2009 SEC Football Season, it is time to do a round-up and analysis of the SEC Head Football Coaches on Twitter. As others have mentioned before, this 2009 football season is the first UT Football season on Twitter. The micro-blogging service has gotten enough mainstream adoption by sports fans and coaches to merit “sports + Twitter” as an emerging phenomena.
With regards to SEC Football, the head coaches are no different than many other celebrities who have taken to “tweeting.” Twitter allows coaches (and perhaps any ghost writers who tweet for them) to energize their fanbase and take control of this easy-to-use online presence. A look at the Twitter stats of the head coaches will give us some insight into the Who’s Who of SEC Head Football Coaches on Twitter:
Most Followers
The first stat we’ll take a look at is the number of followers for a coach’s account. On Twitter, “followers” are like “fans.” In order to gain a follower, a Twitter user must click “Follow” on your profile. Once this happens, your updates appear in that person’s list of “Twitter” updates. The more followers an account has, the more popular that account is on Twitter. The following spreadsheet lists all twelve SEC Head Football Coaches by the number of their followers on Twitter:
At the time of this writing, I note that UT’s Lane Kiffin is at the top of the list. Furthermore, following the news of Kiffin’s mention in a Lil Wayne song, he’s gained 200-plus followers per day as compared to his usual pace of 74 new followers a day (See stats at TwitterCounter.com).
Most Updates
The process of updating Twitter is as simple as sending a text message from your mobile phone. As this USA Today article on LSU Coach Les Miles reports, the simplicity of Twitter makes it easy for the coaches themselves to actually be the ones using the service. So, who is the “most chatty” of the SEC Football Coaches on Twitter? Take a look below, and you might be surprised:
Kentucky’s Rich Brooks is way ahead of the pack with the number of Twitter updates. In fact, he’s so far ahead it makes me wonder if someone in the UKAD occasionally moonlights as his Twitter “ghost writer.” However, ghost writer or not, you’ve got to hand it to Coach Brooks’ Twitter stream for being quite chatty and even quaint at times.
Number of People Followed
While it certainly isn’t expected for any of the coaches to follow anyone back, on occasion they do follow back other coaches at their institutions, current and former players, and various other persons. Here’s a look at how the SEC Football Coaches rank by the number of people they are following:
People Kiffin is Following
Lane Kiffin also leads in this category. A quick check of the list of people he’s following shows a who’s who of current and former Vol Football players on Twitter along with Athletic Director Mike Hamilton, Coach Bruce Pearl and even yours truly. This shows that in addition to promoting UT Football, Kiffin is using Twitter to reach out to his current players, connect with past Vols and support other UT coaches and administration.
Miscellaneous Items
Will the Real Nick Saban please raise your hand?
In compiling this report, I had trouble figuring out which account for Nick Saban is real. There are three Twitter accounts for said ball coach:
- @NickSaban – obviously an impersonator
- @nicksabanALA – This account may have been opened by the ALAD just to combat the above account.
- @CoachNickSaban – This one seems like it might be real; however, I’m holding out on saying it is. (Can anyone confirm if this is the real Nick Saban?)
Houston Nutt Foils a Fake Twitter
In a scenario similar to Nick Saban’s, some Arkansas fans set up a fake account; however, at the start of this season, Coach Nutt, opened his own account and seems to being doing pretty well.
Campaigning for Bobby
If you’re looking for Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino to join the SEC coaches on Twitter, this article from the Fayetteville Flyer will dash your hopes.