Associate director of athletic communications Matt Larson said the page will be a good way to reach alumni and prospective students.

“(Facebook) is a tool that’s becoming more popular with Spartan fans of all ages,” he said. “This is a way to inform people of what’s going on with MSU.”

Larson said the department hasn’t decided how much fans will be able to do on the page. Commenting is allowed, but Larson said he didn’t know if fans would be able to post photos or videos.

“We certainly look to make the Facebook (page) a very interactive experience for the fans,” he said. “I imagine that it would be a place where fans can share their Spartan game-day experiences. There’s an opportunity to give you an exclusive look at what’s going on when the teams are on the road.”

Now the page has video from the Big Ten Kickoff Fan Fest held last week in Chicago, as well as a video of classic Spartan football plays. Fans will be able to vote for their favorite plays starting Aug. 17.

Nicole Ellison, an assistant professor of telecommunication, information studies and media, said it makes sense for university athletic departments to use Facebook.

“Their fans are probably on Facebook anyway, every day,” she said. “It’s much more likely that students or fans would see information that was placed on there more than they would on a Web site they would have to remember to check.”

She said limiting what fans can do on the page is a safer strategy because it lets the university keep control of the page’s message.

“You’re taking a chance when you open a page like this to user-generated content,” she said. “(By opening it) there’s going to be a lot more content. It’s going to be a lot more authentic because it’s provided by students and fans.”

Cassi Darling, a deaf education sophomore, said she follows Spartan football and basketball.

“I would check it out,” she said. “Since we all use Facebook, it would be an easy access.”

The MSU athletics page is open to all ages, Larson said, so that may require deleting posts with inappropriate language. He and assistant athletic communications director Jim Donatelli monitor the page.

“We haven’t come to a place where we’ve had that yet,” he said.

Larson said about half the schools in the Big Ten Conference, of which MSU is a member, have Facebook pages for their athletics.