By Samantha Hart
Lifestyle Editor
TEANECK, N.J. – FDU Athletics has been working remotely the past several weeks due to COVID-19. The potential of not having a fall-sport season and how to manage social media accordingly entered the discussion two weeks ago.
Bryan Jackson, assistant athletic director of communications at FDU, is in charge of athletic communication and the social media community. He has been collaborating with many coaches, students and administrators to create appropriate content for social media.
“I think since March 5, we do all the social media impressions and things, and Twitter alone, as of two days ago, we have 217,000 impressions,” Jackson said. “People are home and have a lot more time on their hands, but people are definitely watching.”
Jackson is trying to make the best of the situation for the athletes by giving pertinent information on social media, not just the usual entertainment content.
“You get most of your news from your Instagram feeds, from Twitter, from Youtube,” Jackson said. “For us, we’re just trying to kind of tailor all of our focus to that.”
The Twitter and Instagram pages for the Knights are filled with content from athletes and coaches. Head coach Greg Herenda, who has become a regular on the Knights’ social media pages, is the most notable.
“Obviously, Coach Herenda, being the big personality that he is, he kind of just took it off and ran with it,” Jackson said.
Herenda is known to be very creative, so whenever he’s in front of a camera it’s easier and more fun to work with for the department.
“I think that’s been our biggest hit,” Jackson said. “If there is one.”
Despite the popularity and excitement the Knights have been gaining on social media, concern lingers.
“Obviously, we know financially we’re gonna take some hits,” Jackson said. “The NCAA revenue is down and obviously in turn the universities are not going to receive the funding that they did, so we’re definitely bracing for that.”
Talks to prepare for the future have just begun to sprout throughout athletics and the rest of the university. FDU Athletics has been eagerly awaiting the decisions from the Northeast Conference, the NCAA and President Capuano.
“The fall season is definitely up in the air,” Jackson said.
With this in mind, Jackson and the rest of FDU Athletics are searching for answers.
“There’s not really one answer,” Jackson said. “This [situation] changes by the day. We’ll kind of have to be flexible.”
FDU Athletics has not been immune to the university’s cost-saving measures.
“There have been a handful of employees that were furloughed,” Jackson said. “The student athletes are a top priority, so sometimes staff will have to make sacrifices to continue that.”
Via Twitter
Assistant athletic director of communications, Bryan Jackson still unsure of fall season schedule.
