The NCAA has developed a YouTube channel as part of its ongoing commitment to new media and technology.

The new channel, www.youtube.com/ncaa, will feature educational videos, public service announcements and other news and information. The content will be offered through the YouTube Web site but the channel will have the same look and feel as NCAA.org.

YouTube offers the Association a way to engage its membership, the general public and student-athletes in an online community. Member schools will be permitted to use the YouTube videos on their own Web sites free of charge. In addition, the Association will link to other university channels and will occasionally feature videos submitted by NCAA member institutions.

Many universities and professional organizations have similar channels that are used to expand their online presence beyond the bounds of their institution’s Web site. The University of California, Berkeley, was one of the first to have a dedicated channel on YouTube.

At a panel discussion during the 2008 Convention, Dan Mogulof, executive director of public affairs at California, described the benefits of YouTube. In addition to the university channel, the institution has an athletics channel, http://www.youtube.com/calathletics, that includes videos of student athletes and coaches. “We’re now in the process of using our YouTube page to not only share coursework, but also for institutional messaging and for marketing,” he said. “We’re really just starting to understand how we can use this tool.”

The YouTube channel is the latest strategic move to better communicate online with the Association’s membership. In January, The NCAA News moved exclusively online and NCAA News Direct, a daily and weekly e-mail, was launched. The Double-A Zone, the official blog of the NCAA, was also redesigned in January to better engage users in important conversations about  intercollegiate athletics.

YouTube offers channels to universities and non-profit organizations free of charge. Administrators interested in more information on how to maximize their online presence may watch the 2008 Convention session: http://web1.ncaa.org/web_video/convention/2008/Resources_For_Maximizing.html.

To find out more about building a university channel on YouTube, contact Obadiah Greenburg, strategic partner, YouTube (obie@youtube.com). For an athletics channel contact Ross Hoffman (rossh@youtube.com).