University of Iowa Facebook Page Deletes Post After Rivalry Game

Let me start by saying I’m not trying to add insult to injury. In full disclosure, anyone that knows me knows that I’m a proud graduate of the University of Minnesota. Early tonight my Alma Mater played football against its arch-nemesis, University of Iowa, for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy. As the underdog, we pulled off our first Big Ten Conference win of the season with a final score of 22-21. It’s also known fact that Minnesota fans are passionate about this rivalry game.

Now that you know the background – let’s get to the topic at hand.

While I was liking every Facebook status posted by college friends about this EPIC win, I noticed a status update from the University of Iowa’s Facebook Page (like Machiavelli wrote – keep your friends close and your enemies closer). The status was something to the effect of:

“Lost 22-21 to Minnesota. It is still a great day to be a Hawkeye.”

I see what they intended in that statement. To their Facebook fans, however, this was like pouring salt in the open wound. Within minutes the post had HUNDREDS of comments to the contrary. Many of those comments pointed at head coach Kirk Ferentz and his $3.6 million dollar salary. Others were still angry from the close loss.

I noticed and shared to a group of Minnesota Gopher fans on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/hust0058/status/130415042133889024

Minutes later I the link I posted on Twitter led nowhere. Their post had been deleted. I wasn’t the only one that noticed.

While I’m sure they were embarrassed by the comments on their post, I think it is in bad taste to simply delete the post. It says to your fans:

  • We don’t want to listen to you
  • Your opinion doesn’t matter
  • We’ll silence things we don’t want to hear
Maybe that is why Iowa is 10 of 12 in the Big Ten Conference for number of Facebook fans.
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About @hust0058

Nonprofit/Association Professional. Social Media Presenter/Writer/Educator. University of Minnesota Alum. Joiner and Volunteer!
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6 Responses to University of Iowa Facebook Page Deletes Post After Rivalry Game

  1. gdwg says:

    “Maybe that is why Iowa is 10 of 12 in the Big Ten Conference for number of Facebook fans.”

    Either that, or it’s because Iowa is 10 of 12 in enrollment.

    • @hust0058 says:

      That’s a good point. I’ve got more the Big Ten social media rankings coming this weekend.

      • gdwg says:

        Iowa is definitely last there, and in all things promotion, social media, public relations, etc.

  2. djrik rik says:

    I think that this shows the contradictions in what a big university teaches about free speech and then taking it away….irony? anyways, i agree with gdwg in looking at other stats, but I do think Iowa has the best fan base!

    • @hust0058 says:

      Iowa does have a serious football fan base. I was on the wrong side of that while I was at Minnesota – having only seen the Floyd of Rosedale in 2000…

      Yes, freedom of speech is important. Thinking about your audience’s potential reaction is, too.

  3. Pingback: The State of University Twitter Accounts in the Big Ten Conference | @hust0058's Blog

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