Episode 138 Snippets: Jeff Mason of University of Central Missouri Athletics

BEST OF THE DIGITAL AND
SOCIAL MEDIA SPORTS PODCAST
EPISODE 138: JEFF MASON
On episode 138 of the Digital and Social Media Sports
Podcast, Neil chatted with Jeff Mason, Athletics
Development Officer, University of Central Missouri
Athletics.
What follows is a collection of snippets from the
podcast. To hear the full interview and more, check out
the podcast on all podcast platforms and at
www.dsmsports.net
@njh287; www.dsmsports.net

Jeff's Career Path
Jeff attended Central Missouri with plans to study marketing
and then sports marketing → Jeff cites #sbchat as an
inspiration for him to pursue sports marketing → He became
involved in campus athletics and learned about Graduate
Assistant positions and began volunteering after graduating
and then later decided to become a GA to work for UCM
Athletics while earning his master's degree
→ Jeff was offered a full-time position after his GA role and
took on a role that encompassed fundraising and external in
addition to marketing

On staying at UCM after graduating undergrad
Jeff had major surgery his senior year that caused him to miss time
his senior year and affected his ability to apply to grad schools, and
'refocused' Jeff's effort to stay at UCM
“The leadership at UCM was really open to the idea, because I'd been
so involved on campus, of giving me an opportunity despite the fact
that I would have some ground to make up after I got back from my
surgery.”

What marketing for UCM Athletics is like
“When I first interviewed for the GA position, one of the
things I brought to the interview...was kind of a layout of
the social media landscape for D2 [and presented UCM's
numbers among that landscape]...That was what really
gave me a strong footing when I got in the door...

“It was a slow process. Part of it was a development of trust between my
associate AD and myself – because I was (asking) to run our Twitter, let
me take over the Facebook...He's handing over passwords to an account
that he knows needs to grow a little bit, but we want to (happen) at a
measured pace. It was a slow process at the get-go, but we've made huge
strides in recent years. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that our
staff has been willing to take on the team accounts and things like that,
so that – while some of the major D1's may have a larger committed staff,
my soccer GA can help out here, my football GA's all have an
understanding of what to do on these elements. Just going from team to
team and trying to have an understanding of what we're trying to do day-
to-day.”

How social media evolved for UCM Athletics
“Back in 2013 when I was first coming on board, it was...a lot of
links to recaps, no engagement...the text of the post was (just the
headline and the link)...It was kind of a refocus of engagement
and at the time it was tasked entirely to our SID squad, and
they've already got more than enough on their plate. I offered to
jump in and help out with some of the day-to-day stuff, but also
create some ideas on what we can post outside of just those
releases...It was more of an engagement from beginning to end,
more of a comprehensive approach (instead of) kind of a one-off
that we had.”

The pitch for social media and getting buy-in
“We started with visibility and, more specifically, visibility with
students. That was a huge focus for me when I started as a Graduate
Assistant was that I had campus involvement, knew all the greek
chapters, knew the student organizations, and had an understanding
of what it would take to get them to games. I pointed at our
lackadaisical as an example of an opportunity to reach those folks
outside of the posters that were going up in the student union that
were just getting walked by and not noticed. So visibility was #1 and
even today we've got some call-to-action pieces, whether it be
(Donation, Apparel)...but we're still nowhere near where I want us to
be.”

Dealing with the rises and falls of budgets and how it pertains to prioritizing
social
“Much like all of our compadres in division two, our budgeting is always an ebb
and flow situation, where right now all of our money is flowing out the door
instead of in. And with that came a reassignment of duties – social media has
largely gone back to our sports information crew, while I'm more focused on
fundraising. Our media relations manager Joe Hoffman is handling the brunt of
the work (on social) day-to-day...and frankly, we're just kind of treading water to
get us back to a spot where we can staff back up – whether it be with grad
assistants...some interns, some volunteers, whatever it might be; hopefully
getting students that want some experience, to get us back up to where I think we
can be and where we need to be.”

“In terms of laying out those (social media) duties, it happens to an
extent just because of our game ops and what can change on a
day-to-day basis. This week, we had the opportunity to hand out
replica rings for our national championship that women's
basketball won last year, so last night's game duties looked a little
bit different than game before...That also changes where we have to
go and how our sports information folks are handling tweeting the
games versus handling media relations to people that are on
radio...So those jobs really flow from game-to-game and day-to-
day. I think when we get back to that staffing, we'll have more
defined (roles), but for right now, it's really roll with the punches.”

The business overview for UCM Athletics
“Right now, the biggest focus by far is growing the donations
and the philanthropic piece, whether that be corporate or
individual. We see a lot of new energy across campus in terms
of what our alumni foundation is doing and we've kind of
jumped on with that. A lot of that is out of necessity from
budget cuts, but...we've had a remarkable amount of success
at Central Missouri, which gives us a lot of opportunity to jump
in on.

“After donations, I think we go to corporate sponsorships. We
have a number of levels from $25,000 down, and our pitch to
those folks is pretty simple – Warrensurg isn't the biggest
town and if you want eyeballs, Central Missouri Athletics is
where you're going to get them...If you want to reach
thousands of people in one sitting, UCM Athletics is where you
want to go...It's something that's going to keep drawing
people.”

Competition with fans and marketing
“We're absolutely competing for attention, and frankly it's one of
my favorite things to talk about because being so close to the
Kansas City area, we are right in the heart of Mizzou fans
(University of Missouri), KU (Kansas), and Kansas State. My
student workers get a speech the day they start with me – if they
wear the other schools' gear into our athletics facilities, they are
going home. Because that fight for attention is so strong, the last
thing I can afford to do is send a message that even the folks on
payroll don't support what we're doing or they'd rather support
someone else.

“When it comes to media coverage, we've only got one
(news)paper in town and they print twice a week, so the majority
of the coverage is what we're generating. When we have a big
play, when we have a big win...the first thing that I'm doing on a
personal level is going to Twitter, replying to that tweet and
tagging ESPN Media Desk, Bleacher Report, all these different
accounts to make sure that we've got at least a fighter's chance
of getting this stuff out, because those opportunities are so few
and far between that I want to make sure we seize our 15 minutes
or 24 hours, whatever it might be.”

The desire for national vs. local amplification
“At the end of the day, I look at it from two different pieces – One, I want to spread this
because our student athletes want nothing more than to wake up the next morning and hear
the SportsCenter (jingle) next to their names. The other piece is, from my perspective I've
found that getting the national leaders in sports to jump on something is frankly easier than
getting the local ones to do so, because the local ones are so tight on their time...they're not
always quick to jump on the local university team that may not draw the headlines – but if
they see that Bleacher Report or FOX Sports, somebody wit national prominence is drawing
attention to it, then they kind of have an eye-opening moment (to cover it). So we start
national and, I'll be frank it doesn't always work, but I've had a lot more success in doing
that than starting with the local media outlets who have to internally debate 'Do the Mizzou
fans care that the Central Missouri basketball hit a buzzer beater? Do the KU fans football
fans care that the Mules football team recovered a fumble for a last second touchdown?'...”

How UCM approaches its position juxtaposed with the larger neighboring schools and
programs
“I think a lot of it has to do with focusing on the fact that we are a local, regional institution
– we draw about 50% of our attendance within a nine county area...And we understand that
we're not the flagship institution for the state, we're also not the flagship institution for the
state of Kansas. So I think we really own the fact that our folks are very local. UCM prides
itself on focusing on student retention, but also the first generation students. We've got a
lot of initiatives on campus that are focused on getting those first generation kids in and
through the first year...So I think our Athletics program takes on a pretty similar tone in
focusing on that local taste and highlighting the fact that (people attending games see
others they recognize locally)...At the end of the day, friends and family is going to get us a
lot more attention than trying to position ourselves asa big dog next to KU basketball,
Mizzou SEC football, whatever it might be.”

On live broadcast coverage for UCM Athletics
“I'm going to take a moment to brag on the production that Central Missouri puts together
for our athletic events. The MIAA, our conference, has an agreement with BlueFrame
Technology, and so all of that goes through the conference, but it's up to each institution to
handle their broadcasting. And we've got two departments on campus – digital media
production and then KMOS, which is our local PBS station – who take on a one-two punch
approach to all of our games, and I would put our broadcast up against any other in division
two – in the camera work, the on-screen graphics, the commentary. I think they do a
phenomenal job, but I also recognize that it's a beast of an investment. There was a lot of
conversation like that at our league level because we looked around division two and in a
number of conferences, you've got a one or two folks that are doing extremely well and a
couple others that put one stationary camera and it's zoomed out full court...We're really
proud of the production we put on and it's incredibly valuable to friends and family who
may not be able to make it to every game, but can buy a season pass and tune in from
wherever they're at, whether that be through their laptop, Roku, or even their cell phone.”

“For an away game, particularly for some of our larger sports...I would
say that's the majority of the comments we'll field in-game is questions
about (broadcast quality)...We're pretty candid with our fans that,
unfortunately it's not our broadcast, we'll happily pass on their feedback,
but unfortunately there's not a whole lot we can do...
“It's a reminder how fortunate we are to have those on-campus partners
because a lot of those institutions simply don't have those resources and
frankly if we didn't have these two departments and these two teams,
who tie in real-life experience with the educational value they're
providing – if we didn't have those folks, we wouldn't be at nearly the
level we're at.”

Planning social marketing and content strategy with limited
resources and adjusting when resources are cut
“You didn't want to say it, but 'cut completely' is a very realistic
part of this. To give you context, when I started as a graduate
assistant, our media relations was two full-time people and two
grad assistants. Right now, it is one full-time person and one
grad assistant. My marketing team, when I began, was the
assistant AD, the director of marketing, and two GA's – it is now
the director of marketing, no GA's, and myself, who is also doing
fundraising.

“So the 'cut entirely' piece is a very real element to our
planning. You almost never see us go live on Facebook or
Instagram...just because I don't have anybody in place for that.
When I do get a student that's incredibly psyched to get some
experience in this or that, there's an acclimation period and
then we'll branch out, but, again, it comes down to the ebb and
flow, what that staffing looks like. That student is eventually
going to graduate and if I don't have an eager up-and-comer
behind him, then that piece may subside for a while.”

How limited resources makes sponsors bankrolling content more important and valuable
“I've actually drawn up a couple of contracts with that exact frame of mind – where 50% of
the sponsorship money would go to a product that we want to use on campus and the
other half would fund two student internships to help elevate our staffing, so we can
effectively use that product. I think that's absolutely a methodology that can be explored
more on the D2 level. There's a lot of disparity between the haves and have-nots in D2 in
terms of corporate sponsorship, but I think that's a very sellable piece – where you go to a
sponsor and say 'We're going to get you in front of some eyeballs, but at the same time
we're going to connect you to a couple of students who could be of great value to you
once they leave the institution and have a degree in hand.'...There's a lot of different ways
you can sell (sponsorship) – not just from the transactional standpoint, but from the
element of impacting a student and developing a future employee.”

Balancing the need to appeal to and attract young fans/students/prospective students
and older fans + donors that are buying more tickets and donating more
“There's always going to be a back and forth...We're constantly focusing on that – it's
not just in music or how we communicate with fans. My students, for example, get
most of their information on social media, whereas my demographic from 35-55 is
relying on our Textcaster service for any schedule changes or final score
results...Because I'm the 27 year-old young gun within our department, I'm always
focused on how we're engaging students and young alumni. I'm hoping that we can
develop a little bit more on the young alumni side, both from the university, but also
within Athletics. Because the harsh reality is that you have to be bringing in new
money constantly. It may only be that (a recent graduate) is only bringing in $25 a year
right now, because he's still paying off student loans, but 25 now can be 100 in two
years and 500 in five years and 1,000 in ten years...”

“Right now, the biggest piece of the conversation that I am pushing from my
side is developing that affinity while they're on campus. If we're going to wait
until they're graduates to focus on what their alumni relationship looks like,
we're dead in the water...From the moment they step on campus, we need them
to have some sort of feeling of what it feels to be a Mule or a Jenny, and that's
got to be fostered over the next 3-4-5 years...because when they do get that
diploma, the last thing I want them to do is swing by their apartment, clip on the
U-Haul, leave town, and never come back. If they don't have a fond memory to
come back to, that's not going to get fixed by a phone-a-thon six months after
they graduated, nor is it going to be fixed by a handwritten letter from a former
professor or a department chair...I think there's gotta be more emphasis on
developing that affinity while on campus, which I think a lot of the division I's
do well, but I think has a lot of room to grow at the division II level.”

How Jeff stays on top of trends, new platforms, and best practices
“It's somewhat of an addiction; I love digesting the material, jumping into
conversations. Jess Smith with the Yankees, years ago, tweeted about: stop
lurking when you're going a hashtag, when you're looking at #smsports, stop
just clicking retweet or favorite – ask a question about it...Pretty much the first
hour of my day is going to start with going through all of the different
newsletters...and then throughout the day, I'm pulling up the sportsbiz hashtag,
the smsports hashtag, and a few other big accounts, in general...Once I tweet it
out, people are starting the conversation with me and it grows from there.
“It's fun...Because I'm always going to want to find the next piece of marketing
that we could apply at Central Missouri, whether that be tomorrow or five years
from now – I'm a marketing nerd, Neil.”

In which sport would a young Jeff have wanted to
become a superstar in the pros when he grew up?
Jeff would've been a football player

What do UCM fans cheer at games? [they're the Mules
and the Jennies]
Jeff notes that most of the cheers apply to Central
Missouri and UCM more than the team names
[Jeff prefers 'Central Missouri' over UCM naming]

The most memorable game Jeff has attended during his
time at UCM [whether as a student or employee]?
The 2014 DII Men's Basketball National Championship in
Evansville, IN
→ Jeff drove 8 hours to the game and then worked the
game, and then drove 8 hours back to Warrensburg
(campus) to be there when the team arrived back to fans
waiting

The most important social media and sports lesson Jeff has learned
“Definitely just the flexibility...There's never going to be a surefire win,
and you always gotta be ready for an upset. So no matter what you
think your great line is for your final score recap...it's gotta be
flexibility. The photo that you thought was an ace has already been
used by the team account, so we're going with something different.
You've got a fan comment that threw a snowball into whatever you've
already got planned. So it's the flexibility, and that also applies to my
game ops side of the duties, as well.”

Jeff's favorite post on social from his time at UCM
Jeff described one of the highlights they stitched together for football
that that worked hard to get picked up on all the major national outlets
“We had a forced fumble that we returned for a touchdown to win the
game as time expired, and my radio guy is screaming into the mic 'The
Mules are on the field, the Mules are everywhere, the Mules are jumping
around the field!' I watched that clip probably 25 times and then when it
popped up on SportsCenter, I lost it...”

Name one college and pro sports team that does a great job on social media and
why
Pro → “I've loved what the Yankees have done – both from an engagement side,
but what they do aesthetically on all of their graphics – I have fallen in love with
some of the images they put out...the visuals are just so sharp. As a Royals fan, I
absolutely hate it , but that team is just killing it...”
College → “I gotta believe they're mentioned often, but the South Carolina video
team is just so good, whether it be their hype-type stuff or their personal pieces, I
love watching their videos and I send it to our videographer all of the time. Not
necessarily for their techniques...but the way they develop the storyline I think
has always been incredibly impressive that, regardless of resources, is
something I'd like to see us do more often.”

The best food to get around UCM
Fitter's Restaurant and Pub and get their Buffalo
Chicken Pizza with their housemade Ranch dressing

Tell us about #YPSportsChat (Young Professional Sports Chat, on Twitter)
“Probably one of my favorite chats behind #SCAChat (Small College Athletics Chat).
Katie has done a tremendous job of growing that thing as its own brand. At the
summer meetups for NACDA and NACMA, the YPSportsChat group always meet up
and it's great to put voices and faces to those handles. It has helped me grow a ton,
not just in the sense of learning the industry, but also resume tips, the cover letter
pieces, the do's and don't's of an interview, and then connecting those folks. Bethany
up at Montana State is one that was first mentioned in a YPSportsChat and I started
following her – the woman is a blessing to college athletics because she's willing to
share so much and she's developed such a great team up there. But she's one of
many examples that I've been able to connect with g that chat. For anybody listening,
those Tuesday nights – set aside the time and join in, and if you don't make it, there's
plenty of times where I've clicked the hashtag and scrolled through afterwards...”

Tell us about one UCM Student Athlete whose story we should know
“I'll use Abby Rhodes as my example – she's a former student athlete;
she was a cheerleader, but also a monster soccer player for us. Abby
is one of those students who – every coach on our campus would've
opened up a roster spot for her if she could play 1,000 events a year.
One of the sweetest people you'll ever meet, tremendous student in
the classroom, always eager to meet fans or little kids...after a game.
Multiple All-Region All-American selection. Just exactly what we want
a student athlete to look like. And we're eager to have her back on
campus in the near future when she inevitably goes in the Hall of
Fame for that National Championship season that the Jennies put
together.”

Jeff's Social Media All-Star to Follow
The @opendorse crew as a whole → “All of those guys have been
phenomenal, both in educating me on what their product is, but what
the implications could look like, and once I started following them on
Twitter, the conversation that I've often out of it has been remarkable.”
[@blake_lawrence, @kunalic, @timdpederson]
Also Kelly Mosier (@kmosier42) [formerly with Nebraska, now with
Hudl] → “Another guy whop I think is just truly one of the sharpest
minds we've got in the business...He's one of the best in terms of
insight and opinions.”

Where to find Jeff and UCM Athletics on digital/social
media
Jeff is @JeffWMason on Twitter
UCM Athletics is UCMAthletics.com and @UCMMules on
all social/digital channels (but Jeff hopes to change it all
to @UCMAthletics some day)

Thanks again to Jeff for being so generous with his time
to share his knowledge, experience, and expertise with
me!
For more content and episodes, subscribe to the
podcast, follow me on LinkedIn and on Twitter @njh287,
and visit www.dsmsports.net

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