From game-day posts to pre- and post-practice TikToks, social media has become an effective tool for the sports industry to engage with its fan bases, and Fordham Athletics is no exception.
Each of Fordham’s Division I athletic teams has its own Instagram page, along with a page for Fordham Athletics as a whole, which currently has 10,400 followers. Behind almost every one of these Instagram accounts are the creative minds of Fordham’s very own students.
These students make up the Fordham Athletics’ Creative Media Department (FACMD) team and are the creators of most of the social content on Fordham Athletics pages. They are the masterminds of everything from the photos taken at games to the media designed for social media platforms and promotional content.
One of those students is Cristina Stefanizzi, Fordham College at Rose Hill ’27, who has been part of the creative team since her first week at Rose Hill. Stefanizzi has created content for several teams at Fordham, but now predominantly works with Fordham Football as their social media manager.
“I focus specifically on photography, graphic design and creative content ( — ) Instagram (R)eels and TikToks ( — ) but we also have videography, video editing, data analysis and content planning people on our team,” Stefanizzi said.
“I remembered how gratifying it was to get a sticker in elementary school, so I thought it would be cute to give to the players as they left practice.” Cristina Stefanizzi, FCRH ’27
Recently, one of the TikToks created by Stefanizzi has gained a lot of traction across the Fordham Football social media pages. On Aug. 4, Stefanizzi uploaded an Instagram Reel and TikTok in which she gave the Fordham football players a gold star after one of their training camp practices. The video now has 39,600 views on Instagram and 2.3 million views on TikTok with over 527,000 likes.
“The gold star (T)ik(T)oks came to me out of the blue, I just had a lot of extra stickers,” Stefanizzi said. “I remembered how gratifying it was to get a sticker in elementary school, so I thought it would be cute to give to the players as they left practice. I’m really glad it’s getting a lot of traction online, I’ve seen a couple other teams try and do it too(,) which is kind of crazy.”
Although the reason for content online going viral can be hard to pinpoint, Stefanizzi credits the traction her video received to the different perspective it gave fans of the athletes on the football team.
“My goal is to create new, innovative and creative content to keep people engaged.” Cristina Stefanizzi, FCRH ’27
“I think it performed so well because it showcases the players’ personalities, which is something fans can’t see from the stands during a game. Some of the players even kept their stickers and put them on their pads and helmets(,) which I thought was sweet,” Stefanizzi said.
The way that the gold star video highlighted the Fordham football players’ personalities is exactly what Stefanizzi strives to do — not just with her social media posts, but with all her other creative work within the athletics department.
“My goal is to create new, innovative and creative content to keep people engaged, document important moments and milestones, showcase the personalities of our team ( … ) and show fans a different perspective that they may not be able to experience from their seats on gameday,” Stefanizzi said.
Creating content that drives engagement and does not become repetitive on followers’ feeds is not an easy task. From photography to videos to promotional content, Stefanizzi and the other creatives for Fordham Athletics are always looking to see how they can keep things interesting for their followers.
“Sometimes practices and game days can feel like Groundhog Day ( — ) the same photos over and over ( — ) so I try to switch up my angles or do something creative ( — ) aerial shots, double exposure, black and white ( — ) to keep viewers interested,” Stefanizzi said. “For (T)ik(T)oks, I try to see what content is performing well on the algorithm at the time. If you’re hopping onto a trend you want to try and be really early to it, otherwise your video won’t do as well. I also find that content that is (both) unique and ( … ) shows off the personality of the players is what performs the absolute best.”
Although Stefanizzi is the main creator of the content on the Fordham football pages, there are several undergraduate students behind every single piece of media shared by Fordham Athletics pages. There are almost 30 students that make up the FACMD team, along with two student managers and an Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Promotions Eilish Devine, who oversees all of the student workers and interns.
“We’re basically entirely student run, so all the content is produced by full(-)time undergraduate students(,) which is kind of crazy if you think about it. The Athletics Dep(ar)t(ment) just hired a full time graphic designer(,) but aside from him and ( … ) Eilish Devine(,) it’s all students. I think it’s really impressive how much work we all put in and how much content we’re able to produce,” Stefanizzi said.
From attending practices and games to designing content alongside the Fordham Athletics marketing team, the students on the FACMD team are integrated in every aspect of the athletic department at Rose Hill. Aside from being able to express her creativity, Stefanizzi has enjoyed being able to be part of the Fordham Athletics family.
“My favorite part is the community I’ve been able to meet. I love all of my talented and creative coworkers, and all of the athletes I’ve met have been so kind. It’s also such a privilege to capture and share their stories and document Fordham history,” Stefanizzi said.
The work of the FACMD team highlights social media’s ability to connect people to their communities. These student creatives are able to celebrate both the big and small moments of Fordham Athletics through their photos, videos and promotional content.
“The importance of my role is to capture the milestones of Fordham Athletics and its teams(,) but also our student athletes. Being able to make graphics about athletes breaking a school or league record, capture a photo of a player’s first or last game with Fordham, a hug with a parent pre-game, a celebration on the field ( … ) is really rewarding and it makes me feel like my work is actually meaningful,” Stefanizzi said. “I also find it admirable and important to represent and make other women feel included in such a male(-)dominated industry such as sports.”
The creative work that Stefanizzi has done over the course of her last two years at Fordham has not only made her a valuable part of Fordham Athletics, but also shows the incredible undergraduate creative talents that are working behind the scenes year-round.
