College football season begins today and the ACC Digital Network is hard at work delivering digital content showcasing new Facebook fan experiences. The ACCDN premieres two shows exclusively on Facebook, ‘ACCDN Kickoff Live’ and ‘ACC Football Players of the Week.’ The inaugural ACC Football Tailgate Tour presented by Lumber Liquidators promises plenty of pregame excitement sprinkled in with sport tech to loyal and new league fans. A positive Atlantic Coast Conference story that touched my heart has gone viral because a loving Florida State University football player was captured in a photo eating lunch with a boy diagnosed on the autism spectrum at a middle school. The Sports Techie community blog is ready for the 2016 ACCDN delivered on the official ACC mobile app in what is projected to be one of the nation’s strongest conferences. ACCDN technologies are indeed cutting edge.
Read our exclusive blog chat with executives last week about the BAMTech technology and infrastructure partnership with ACCDN owners, Silver Chalice Ventures.
Facebook.com/theACC – Kickoff Live
News out of Charlotte, North Carolina today about the weekly programs on Facebook aims to take advantage of free Facebook Live video streaming as well as provide riveting ACC football information on the social platform where fans’ eyeballs are.
Look for ACCDN Kickoff Live videos surrounding the best returning and upcoming players in the sport as well as showcasing their amazing and gritty performances. Guest student reports are a feature ACC fans and alumni enjoy on the ACCDN website, now the reporters will be featured on this new show. College football insider reports are another feature segment of the show. Finally, only on Facebook will you find access to all the teams combined with real-time fan engagement with hosts Jeff Fischel and Wes Bryant.
Debut Show (Thursday, Sept. 1, 6pm)
- It’s Go Time! Nationally ranked Clemson, FSU and UNC open against SEC opponents.
- Student report from Ireland where Boston College and Georgia Tech open the season in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
- On site coverage from Louisville, NC State and Wake Forest (including tailgating and team access) as three ACC teams open their seasons.
- “Pick the new coach,” predicting the success of each of the four fresh football coaches in the conference.
- Special Feature: Emoji Story of the Week
ACC Football Players of the Week
Every Monday at 12pm ET and debuting this Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 12pm ET, the top ACC weekend player performances are covered by Fishel who adds personal opinions and statistic driven analysis regarding each performance.
Click the ACC official page ‘Like’ button on Facebook (Facebook.com/theACC) to be a part of the action. By doing so, you can opt in for live alerts and show reminders. Fan comments are welcome anytime whether Fishel is live or archived.
Football Tailgate Tour
Get ready for the inaugural ACC Football Tailgate Tour presented by Lumber Liquidators because it is loaded with pregame thrills designed with sports technology for fans young and old throughout the league.
Each of the 14 ACC football campuses has a scheduled stop. The 15th Tour stop is during the ACC FanFest at the 2016 Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game in Charlotte, the culmination of this unique fan experience event.
Syracuse’s opening game against Colgate this Friday is the tailgating tour’s first destination. During the upcoming season, Raycom Sports and FishBait Marketing are assisting with the events.
“The ACC Football Tailgate Tour Presented by Lumber Liquidators provides an opportunity to showcase and celebrate ACC Football and unite our fans under a common banner,” said ACC Commissioner John Swofford. “We are pleased to partner with Lumber Liquidators and look forward to highlighting our brands this fall throughout our league’s footprint.”
Former Syracuse quarterback Marvin Graves is schedule to attend Friday’s festivities beginning at 4 p.m. just outside Gate N of the Carrier Dome then and finishing at the 7 p.m. kickoff. A sport tech enhanced 53-foot tractor trailer extravaganza is the centerpiece of the tour with ACC Football and Lumber Liquidators graphics and images on the exterior, and Lumber Liquidators and ACC Football videos, products, information and equipment inside the custom big rig.
Look for ACC Tailgate Tour representation from the Capital One Orange Bowl, interactive games, and an oportunity for ACC fans in attendance to earn free giveaways, swag and also a chance to register to win a Lumber Liquidators room makeover along with a trip to the 2016 Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game. Thanks goes out to Van Wagner Sports & Entertainment for their Tour vision.
The complete ACC Football Tailgate Tour Presented by Lumber Liquidators is as follows:
Friday, Sept. 2 – Colgate at Syracuse
Saturday, Sept. 10 – Penn State at Pitt
Saturday, Sept. 17 – South Carolina State at Clemson
Thursday, Sept. 22 – Clemson at Georgia Tech
Saturday, Sept. 24 – Pitt at North Carolina
Saturday, Oct. 1 – Virginia at Duke
Friday, Oct. 7 – Clemson at Boston College
Friday, Oct. 14 – Duke at Louisville
Thursday, Oct. 20 – Miami at Virginia Tech
Saturday, Oct. 22 – North Carolina at Virginia
Saturday, Oct. 29 – Boston College at NC State
Saturday, Nov. 5 – Pitt at Miami
Friday, Nov. 11 – Boston College at Florida State
Saturday, Nov. 19 – Clemson at Wake Forest
Saturday, Dec. 3 – 2016 Dr Pepper ACC Football Championship Game (Charlotte, N.C.)
FSU Autism Love
ACC Now shared the picture and story that went gone viral regarding FSU player Travis Rudolph eating a piece of pizza with middle schooler Bo Paske during a team visit. What makes this so special is Bo is autistic and was eating by himself in the school cafeteria. Bo’s Mom, Leah Paske shared the image on Facebook.
Travis Rudoph’s Heartwarming Lunch With Bo
ACCDN Technologies
The ACC Digital Network is home of official game highlights and Must See Moments.
All ACCDN videos are viewable on theACC.com, the ACC mobile and tablet application, as well as various streaming and connected mobile and TV devices such as Amazon Fire, Apple TV, go90, Roku and Xbox. Follow Twitter handle @theACCfootball for all ACC football tweets, and @theACCDN on Twitter and Instagram.
The #ACC Mobile App features live games, video, scores, stats and news. Download it on your iPhone, iPad or Android. Your teams, your app – it’s on the ACC Mobile App presented by Carrabba’s Italian Grill at theacc.com/mobileapp.
Sports Techie, I am not sure what exited me the most about this blog and the upcoming ACC football season. The social media element for fans is a key aspect because of the new ACCDN Facebook shows, ACCDN Kickoff Live and ACC Football Players of the Week. The tailgating tour sounds like sports technology integrated loads of fun for ACC fans. Of course, I am a fan of the ACC mobile app for staying close to college football and other league sports content.
Yet, for me, the most compelling story is the autism love displayed by the FSU player towards Bo. My son is 3-years old and on the spectrum. I get why this image is both heartwarming and also disturbing because of the fact that Bo is eating lunch by himself as happens to thousands of children and adults with ASD. The school’s admin, teachers and students need to reflect on this photo and be better people.
Is this a harsh reminder of the realities people with special needs face daily? Yes, it is. Is it also a look into the millennial generation in terms of the ‘me first’ attitude the media is beginning to latch onto. NBC Sports blamed millennials for the lack of audience during the Rio 2016 Olympics broadcast. Millennials are not buying homes as previous generations of Americans do as a rite of passage into adulthood. There is even data stating that this generation has less sex than previous generations.
I was the community coach for Dunwoody HS boy’s lacrosse during the 2015 season and first-hand witnessed how this generation treats others and themselves. If was not often pretty as a whole yet there are plenty of individuals that break this model and are model citizens. Perhaps growing up tethered to a digital device is part of the reason for the lack of well-rounded social skills. Parents need to do a better job at engaging with their children at home and out and about; especially gen Z kids that have even more technological options in which to bury themselves away from society whether that is gaming on consoles and PCs, social platforms such as Snapchat, or instant gratification devices like smartphones, tablets and OTT.
All these ACC college football related stories are exactly why I love blogging because it represents how sports tech has infiltrated our lives, mostly for the better.
My son is named Kellan, a Celtic Irish name and he is pumped up (because I am) for the BC versus GT match-up in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in the UK.
Be sure to pick your favorite emoji before gametime.
See y’all later in Seattle, Atlanta and around the world.
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