Social media policies within NCAA member institutions: Evolving technology and its impact on policy

Social media’s rapid adoption and usage by student-athletes has created risk for athletic department personnel who are often tasked with creating policy to protect both the department and the student-athletes. This research examined 244 social media policies from Division I, Division II, and Division III schools using framing and communication privacy management theories. An exploratory sequential mixed methods approach was utilized to collect the data. Analysis methods included content, thematic, and calculation of chi-square coefficient for significance. The results indicated that the policies overwhelmingly framed social media as restrictive. The analysis also revealed that student-athletes were presented with conflicting messages about ownership of social media content and were subjected to rules that governed content, monitoring, and the actions of others. As such, the authors suggest that social media policies should include more language that explains how student-athletes can b