Your alma mater is a different school than what you knew it to be. The obvious signs are the new construction, new programs, and many new faces around the campus. But the culture of these institutions is far more different than what you knew.

This is especially true for black college sports. The objectives and payoffs for attending an athletic contest are far different from what they were 20 years ago or even two years ago. Years ago, you called somebody up to talk trash about the big game between your school and theirs. Then it evolved to email. Now, groups on Facebook are dedicated to down-talking someone else’s school, band, dance squad, cheerleaders and concessions staff.

One thing black colleges must realize is that the culture of their sports, much like the institutions themselves, are changing far more rapidly than anyone could’ve anticipated. Students are attending HBCUs for far different reasons than they did years ago, and their expectations out of a black college experience are vastly different. And while there are moral and social debates that continuously rage about how to cultivate school pride on campus (parties, visitation, Greek life), there should be no debate about how to get young people involved and excited about sports on their campuses.

Take the news directly to them.

If your school’s athletic department doesn’t have at least these five things, you ought to call your university president right now and ask for the Chico Caldwell special:

  • Facebook page
  • Twitter account
  • YouTube account
  • Weekly Newsletter (E-Mail)
  • Links to fan sites

These are the things you must have to speak with the iGeneration. That’s right; most of you are Generation X, I’m a Generation Y and the iGeneration babies are on deck. They don’t wait for anything, and expect everything they need to know to be delivered to their cell phone via text update or Tweet.

This is especially important for black colleges, because black college students are experts in buyer’s remorse. Kids are no longer attending black colleges out of a racial or social obligation; it’s all about who has the best academic program, and where can they have the most fun. If you think that they don’t check out feedback and info from friends at other institutions, HBCU or not, you are in the wrong business. Between desegregation and Barack Obama, you can’t tell black college students anything about being appreciative and knowing their history. They know their history, and they know what choices are readily available to them if they become dissatisfied.

If you have students lining up to be your friend on Facebook, that means you’ve done or said something that they are interested in hearing, and will likely support if the price is right. If you have much of the campus following you on Twitter, your updates can often translate into action.

If you have student rushing to make videos of the marching band or the hilarious reactions of idiots in the stands, you’ve created a viral appeal for your program that will only continue to grow. Email subscribers are people who look forward to your messages, and fan boards are the people who will tell you how well or how poorly you are doing all of the above.

You know what kind of person thinks this kind of thing is for the birds? A lazy old head who is afraid of technology and possibly, social interaction. They are too afraid to step out and do things that can create more attention, because it creates more accountability, and usually, more work. If it means more people will come with more opinions, they don’t want anything to do with it.

Meanwhile, black college sports are suffering an early retirement with the same folks still whooping and hollering about something Jake Gaither or Big House Gaines said when they were a sophomore in college.

These methods are free, these methods are real, and these methods are effective. And for those schools that are in geographically remote or rural locations, these methods are priceless. Not every school has built a culture for massive alumni and community following like North Carolina A&T, or many of the SWAC schools, but the first step in creating a buy-in for your program is getting the students attentive and excited.

And in today’s world, you’re better off doing it in 140 characters or less.