UIL NOW Explores New Format
By Kate Y. Hector, Media Coordinator | Friday, September 06, 2013 1:55 PM
Each of the first five editions of UIL NOW for the 2013-14 school year will feature one of last year's UIL Lone Star Cup winners, like Salado High School.
Photo by Jana Riggins, Speech and Debate Director
The University Interscholastic League’s video series, UIL NOW, has undergone some changes over the summer. In its previous format, the video focused on upcoming events and deadlines. The new format will feature several new sections and, a video will be published every two weeks, as opposed to every week.
In an effort to provide more detailed and timely content the videos will include sponsor spotlight, UIL flashback, activity spotlight, coaches corner and special Lone Star cup sections in various editions of UIL NOW.
The sponsor spotlights will focus on one of the League’s corporate sponsors and the incentives they provide for UIL member schools. The second edition of UIL NOW featured Nike Team Sports, and more sponsor information will appear throughout the school year.
The UIL flashback will take a look back into the League’s rich history. Using old issues of the Leaguer, as well as previous years’ Constitution and Contest Rules, UIL NOW will explore what was happening around the League 50, 60 or even 100 years ago.
The activity spotlight will focus on one activity in each edition of UIL NOW. These activity spotlights will shed light on the ins and outs of the activity, including how it is scored or judged, how students prepare and advance in contests and how the activity has evolved over the years.
The Coaches Corner is a particularly exciting new aspect of UIL NOW. This special section will feature interviews with representatives from various coaches associations, as well as coaches recognized for their work by NFHS, by section or nationally. The first subject of Coaches’ Corner will be Sam Tipton, Texas Girls Coaches Association Executive Director.
Each of the first five editions of UIL NOW for the 2013-14 school year will feature one of the 2012-13 UIL Lone Star Cup winners. As the winners are presented with their trophies, UIL NOW will take a look at the presentation ceremonies as well as the performances that earned the coveted trophy.
As state championships begin in November, UIL NOW will provide more timely information and championship recaps of the action at the state level.
As the League office prepares for a Reclassification and Realignment year, UIL NOW will also be a source for multimedia information. In the fourth edition, the video posted the second week of October, UIL NOW will feature background information on how reclassification works and what it means. In February, viewers can expect in-depth coverage of R&R results, with video from the press conference and video of maps in the UIL offices.
UIL NOW’s revamp is just a continuation of the progress the League has made in its social media presence. In August of last year, a Leaguer article detailed the UIL’s growing social media capital, which has seen explosive growth over the past year.
The League’s Facebook page has more than 5,600 likes, and its Twitter account broke the 10,000-follower mark last spring. The UIL NOW videos will be posted on the UIL website, as well as the League’s YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/UILTexas).
The UIL also has a very active Instagram account (http://instagram.com/uiltexas), more than 2,000 photos were tagged with the official hashtag of the UIL State Championships, #UILState, last year.
The League has been able to connect with and provide information to thousands of people through these social media sites. The UIL’s Twitter account saw its biggest jump in followers during the track and field state meet, when fans were searching for updates on several hours-long rain delays.
Chris Schmidt, UIL Public Affairs Representative, is responsible for the majority of social media content and said the League’s social media goal is to always share more student success stories, and to help disseminate important information.
“Social media was a focus for us last year and we saw it grow with the amount of people that wanted to connect and interact,” Schmidt said. “Whether its posting state tournament updates or uploading photos from UIL events, our goal is to be an information source while also highlighting the successes of Texas students."
During this school year, the League will continue to provide information through social media, including results and updates during state tournaments and updates from the UIL during official meetings.
Stay tuned to UIL NOW and all of the League’s social media sites for the latest information and happenings around the UIL.
University Interscholastic League official social media sites:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/txuil
TILF Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TILFoundation
Twitter: http://twitter.com/uiltexas
TILF Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TILFoundation
Brackets Twitter: http://twitter.com/uilbrackets
Instagram: http://instagram.com/uiltexas
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/UILTexas
Foursquare: http://foursquare.com/uiltexas