Clarksville, Ark.-In the frenetic pace of another women's college basketball game, U of O student Sports Information Assistant Emily Black calmly posts what will be her fifteenth tweet of the game. Undeterred by a team celebration in front of her as a result of a playoff-clinching win, Black reveals her thoughts on the University's Athletic Department Twitter feed. A number of followers retweet or favorite the post, which included a short video, within seconds of reading it. That quickly, the news of another post-season appearance for the Lady Eagles was literally in the hands of more than 1,000 twitter followers.
    
From in-game live tweeting to game day promotions on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, Black has been behind the scenes the past four years working in the Sports Information Office as the student Director of Social Media. Unassuming by nature, Black's work has been anything but that, according to Sports Information Director Josh Peppas.

"Emily's impact on our athletic department has been invaluable," said Peppas. "While a lot of things she does are behind the scenes, her influence hasn't gone unnoticed by our student-athletes and coaches. She has the ability to process what transpired in a game and produce an appropriate tweet to describe it. That has been her strength and why she is so beneficial to the athletic department."

A native of Clarksville, Black was an early adopter of twitter as she recognized the opportunities the platform provided.

"I was able to interview a few WNBA players via twitter several years ago and realized what an incredible platform it was to interact," she said. "It was a way for fans to be involved and spread their love of the game. Twitter is all about connecting and engaging and being able to resonate with someone. It allows you to connect with them on a totally different level. I think social media is giving athletes their own platform. They can be their own marketers to some extent now. Twitter and Instagram can give anyone a voice or anyone a brand."

Sporting a perfect 4.0 grade point average as a marketing major, her work promoting a campus Special Olympics event resulted in the university's athletic department receiving $500 from the NCAA two years ago. She has also produced contests via twitter for Hoops Madness and other home events. The Sports Information Office's use of social media is one of the most effective in all of NCAA Division III. According to a D-III social media index ranking, Ozarks' athletic department has been among the top-15 all year. The index measures activity in Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for over 400 NCAA Division III institutions.    

In addition to assisting with social media, Black has been the official statistician for various sports, a photographer and has provided written content for the athletic department web site.    
    
"I've been exposed to a wide variety of areas in the Sports Information Office," said Black. "I think a lot of the things done at a small school like ours can translate into a larger scale. For me, marketing is story telling. That is what intrigues me. It is all about communicating in creative ways."

Her passion for athletics will continue after graduation this May as she has already been accepted into the Manhattan Sports Business Academy in New York City for the summer session. In the fall, Black will attend Law School at either Southern Methodist University or Fordham University. Following Law School, she aspires to be a brand manager for professional athletes, or work as a sports agent.

"I want to ultimately be working in athlete branding in some capacity for an established firm or owning my own firm," she said. "In particular, I would like to work with female athletes. I think they are underrepresented, especially with endorsements. I would like to leverage opportunities for them."

Peppas believes Black will succeed beyond what she has already accomplished at Ozarks.

"She has a desire to do things the right way," he said. "She leads a disciplined life and possesses outstanding work and study habits. Her character is impeccable. Her parents taught her well."