Twitter can be a very effective tool.

If you’re reading this, then there is a decent chance that you follow me on Twitter, either to check up on Ashland athletics and avoid at all costs my soccer tirades or to read my—sometimes—witty remarks on sports in general and avoid at all costs my soccer tirades (I do it for myself, I swear).

If you do follow me, then you may have seen my rant the other week in which I pointed out Ashland University’s inability (or perhaps unwillingness, I’m not sure) to promote itself using outside sources.

Like I said, Twitter can be very effective. One thing it does not offer, however, is clarity. I don’t take back anything that I said during that rant—which you can find by going to my Twitter handle and scrolling to Jan. 21. I just want to clarify the direction of my comments and analyze the situation they were about.

To sum it up, I was working in the office on Martin Luther King Jr. day when I stumbled upon a very interesting video on NCAA.com.

It was part of the “NCAA on Campus” web series that features notable athletes from across all NCAA divisions and sports.

The nearly nine-minute long video (which you may have seen via the Ashland.edu homepage) featured AU women’s basketball player Kari Daugherty and men’s basketball player Evan Yates. Not only that, but it gave a very positive introduction to the university and athletic program, read by women’s soccer player Rebecca Plescia.

The video included interviews with Daugherty, Yates, men’s basketball head coach John Ellenwood, women’s basketball head coach Sue Ramsey and players Ashley Dorner and Alyssa Miller. It very clearly and concisely described what brought both Daugherty and Yates to Ashland and the successes they have had since they got here.

Most importantly, it accurately portrayed both of them as wonderful and intelligent student-athletes that Ashland should be proud to have representing its athletic programs.

I’m not claiming to be the first person to find or post this video. All I know is that my Twitter rant brought the video to the attention of people who it seemed should have already known about it.

The next morning, I got a very nice email from AU’s director of social media Victoria Frank thanking me for posting the video on Twitter and saying that she had done the same via Ashland’s Twitter (@AshlandUniv). The video was also posted on the university’s Facebook page Jan. 22.

But here’s the part that baffles me: the athletic department has yet to make mention of the video on its website—goashlandeagles.com—nor has it posted or reposted/retweeted anything on its Twitter or Facebook pages.

Last time I checked, the purpose of those pages is to disseminate information about Ashland athletics that fans and alumni might find interesting. A video made by a national website that sheds positive light on Ashland’s athletic program, two of its athletes and the university as a whole would seem to qualify.

I think the athletic department does a wonderful job with a number of things: they’ve obviously done something right to become as successful as they are at so many sports and they do a great job when it comes to hosting large events i.e. conference and regional playoff games. But there are times when I think they could do a better job promoting themselves, especially online.

This video is a prime example. A reporter was paid to come to Ashland and shoot highlights at the Dec. 17 games against Northwood. He or she asked the athletic department or the coaches for access to the players before or after practice and presumably told them what the interviews were for.

Media attention like that is free publicity for a program and a university. It helps put the entire university on the map, which is a big reason why college athletic programs exist. To not acknowledge or promote that kind of material shows either that the athletic program at Ashland does not care or that it is above such publicity.

I don’t think either of those are the case, but that is message that was sent.

“NCAA on Campus” is not exactly “SportsCenter” or “The Road to the Final Four,” but it is an established web series with over 100 episodes that has profiled athletes and coaches from Division III all the way to the Zeller brothers of Division I college basketball.

In fact, “NCAA on Campus” has been to Ashland before, nearly two years ago, when it featured former Eagles quarterback Billy Cundiff and former cross country coaches Nick and Leigh Cordes, who got married on NBC’s “Today” show.

If Ashland wants these kinds of opportunities to come around often, it should at least acknowledge their existence.

Initially, I thought the video had been up on NCAA.com for at least a week before I found it, although there was no date alongside it. The “NCAA on Campus” YouTube channel posted the video Jan. 21 (the same day I found it) and a Google search says it was posted on NCAA.com on Jan. 20, meaning it had only been up a day.

So maybe my rant was a little harsh. But the important thing is that it was noticed. The video found its way to the university’s home page, and I like to think I had something to do with that. And sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with a little self-promotion. More than anything, it shows you care.

http://www.ncaa.com/video#!playlists/sports/basketball-men/d2/on-campus -Ashland Basketball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNBl4t4F17w -Cundiff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wuxnq-2tB0 -Cordes