Over the past year-plus, Central Michigan University athletics has made a big splash into the world of social media.
Creating a Twitter and Facebook presence for Chippewa sports were both successful in giving the fanbase more accessibility, allowing for instant updates about any number of topics relating to CMU athletics.
The next step, launched Monday, is Central Michigan’s very own Youtube channel where fans can go to access videos from all 16 Chippewa sports. Videos currently vary from plays of the year during the 2011-12 season as well as features and behind the scenes clips.
Fans can access the channel online at www.youtube.com/CmichAthletics.
Central Michigan Director of Communications Jason Kaufman says that the Youtube channel has been discussed over the past year, while in the last several months efforts have been amped up to get it rolling.
“We wanted to sit back a little bit and see what was out there before we jumped into anything,” said Kaufman. “We wanted to make sure it was the right fit and everything looked the way we wanted it to before we launched it.”
While there is plenty of video content available on cmuchippewas.com, the Youtube channel takes it to the next level as it provides content that is not available elsewhere.
“The goal was to give our fanbase content they can’t see elsewhere,” Kaufman said. “That includes highlights, but also raw footage such as on a bus trip or inside a locker room. Things that kind of take you away from the field of play, but are of interest to our fans. We’ll also have post-game stuff that isn’t available on our website. There will be a number of different kind of videos we will offer.”
Currently, there are 18 videos available on the Youtube channel. Among those are a five-minute feature on CMU volleyball player Kelly Maxwell as well as a sitdown with retired Chippewas women’s basketball assistant coach Kathy McGee. There are also plays of the year videos for several different sports.
The plan is for the channel to continue to grow and be a staple of the CMU social media presence during the upcoming school year.
“We expect it to be big for us and we are already getting a lot of clicks on some of our videos,” said Kaufman. “It also allows our coaches another recruiting tool. It gives them a chance to show why their program is unique and that is something that has been missing some in the past.”