Over the past five years, Twitter has evolved from a small social media site into one of the most powerful websites in history.

Iona athletics has its own presence on social media. The Twitter account (@ICGaels) is the only Twitter account from a MAAC school that has over 3,000 followers.

The role of social media has caused controversies within the college sports community.

Last month, a Boston College women’s soccer player was suspended for an NCAA tournament match after making offensive tweets directed at Penn State University regarding incarcerated former football coach Jerry Sandusky.

This incident is not unprecedented in the world of college sports but it may make some wonder what Iona’s policy toward social media regarding its student athletes is.

In an interview with Brian Beyrer, Iona’s assistant athletic director, he said, “student-athletes are not required to report their social media accounts to the athletic department.”

Iona’s requirements do not differ from the NCAA’s.

The NCAA does not require student-athletes to report their Twitter names to their school. However, both Louisville University and the University of Kentucky require their student athletes to share their Twitter accounts with their respective athletic departments.

Restricting the use of student-athletes and their Twitter accounts could be an infringement on freedom of speech.

Iona does not put requirements on what athletes can or cannot say on Twitter. When asked, Beyrer said “In its simplest form, my ‘guidelines’ are to keep it classy and don’t speak about injuries.”

When asked, student athletes expressed different restrictions on what they can or cannot say.

Junior baseball pitcher Stephen Bianchi said, “We are prohibited from posting anything illegal. Although this might seem obvious, underage players that are seen in a picture with alcohol are at risk to get in trouble with the school [Iona].”

Junior volleyball player Alicja Pawelec added, “It is addressed every preseason. Iona College athletes are made aware that they are representing Iona College with every action they take.”

When asked if their respective teams restrict them from making postings, both student-athletes said that their teams did not have additional requirements for their players.

Bianchi added, “a common ideology that I use is this: could what I am writing hurt the outlook of our baseball program in any way?”

Junior water polo goalkeeper Stefen Hill added, “Our coach tells us not to be stupid and post something we shouldn’t.”

It should be noted that the NCAA has not sanctioned a student athlete for anything they may have posted on a social media site. When Boston College suspended their women’s soccer player last month, they did so independently from the NCAA, who took no action on the matter.

The future of social media in college athletics will be an interesting development.

Currently, the state of California is trying to pass legislation that would prevent schools from requiring student athletes to reveal their Twitter accounts to colleges.

But, the NCAA has said that institutes of higher education should monitor content that athletes publish on social media sites, assuming there is suspicion on the violations of any rule.

This past year, the NCAA did give the University of North Carolina a one-year bowl ban along with a reduction of scholarships after it was revealed that a football player tweeted something that reflected receiving illegal benefits.

Iona athletics has done nothing out of the norm with its social media policy. But their rules could change in the coming years if the NCAA cracks down on Twitter like it has for other programs.