In the first collegiate Twitter handle trade ever, the Stanford Cardinal traded the Twitter handle @SUAthletics to the Syracuse Orange. The press release from Stanford detailing the trade is absolutely hysterical.
Stanford’s social media lineup saw a shakeup over the weekend as the nation’s most successful athletic department traded its Twitter handle, @SUAthletics, to the Syracuse University Athletics. The trade is believed to be the first blockbuster trade in college athletics. To complete the trade, Syracuse will send a collection of local goods to be named later but also including one case of oranges, which Stanford intends to use in refilling its 2011 Orange Bowl trophy.
You have to love when an athletic department has a sense of humor. Hopefully the local goods are worth it for Stanford, rebranding your Twitter handle after having it for so long is a risky play. Lucky for them, GoStanford.com is their athletics website, and they’ve been using #GoStanford enough that using it as their handle shouldn’t confuse fans too much. The Athletic Director Bernard Muir even made a statement on the trade.
“Obviously we’re thrilled to activate @GoStanford as our official Twitter handle and pull off this dynamic trade,” said Bernard Muir, The Jaquish & Kenninger Director of Athletics at Stanford. “From a branding standpoint, this trade makes sense for both schools. We held both accounts – the social media equivalent to having two starting quarterbacks, and we wanted to derive as much value fun as possible. We expect great things from our new starter, @GoStanford, and wish @SUAthletics good luck in a new home.”
Despite rumors of another move, neither school would comment on a potential trade involving field stencils for their respective “Block S” logos.
As conversation increases about the potential for trades within collegiate athletic departments, it is mere coincidence that Syracuse sent assistant men’s basketball coach Tim O’Toole to Stanford earlier last week.
The NCAA has not commented on the trade.
Well done, Stanford.
