A Q&A with Matt Repchak, the Man Behind the Best Tweets This Bowl Season

It's a question Matt Repchak gets asked from time to time on Twitter. 

"Are you a guy or a girl?" 

"We are a bowl," he responds. 

Repchak uses the royal "we" because he doesn't believe he's the all-encompassing, singular voice for the Russell Athletic Bowl and Capital One Bowl. However, he does run the Twitter accounts for each, so in a way, he is the voice—at least on social media. 

That voice has been developed over time by Repchak to be funny and engaging. People began catching on, and now, nearly 20,000 people follow the two accounts combined.

While some bowl game Twitter handles are buttoned up and strictly business, Repchak is joking, referencing YouTube videos, internet memes and occasionally tweeting in all caps. 

That level of accessibility has made the Russell Athletic Bowl (@RussellAthBowl) and Capital One Bowl (@CapitalOneBowl) Twitter handles fan and media favorites. 

It's also led to curiosity about who runs them. 

Here are the basics: Repchak is 30 years old and a Northwestern grad. He's been working with Florida Citrus Sports, a not-for-profit membership organization that oversees both bowls, for eight years. Here's B/R's Q&A with Repchak, the man behind the best tweets you'll see this bowl season. 

You’re considered one of the most engaging Twitter handles in college football. How did that come about?

It happened over time. I messed around to figure out the voice in which we wanted to speak. Where we are as a bowl in the college football space, we can’t always carry ourselves like we’re the most important thing in town. We like to think that what we do is great for the teams that are here. But, ultimately, it’s about putting on a show and making sure everyone has fun. 

It's all similar to a general sense of humor we have in the office. I do get a good amount of leeway. Everyone has been very trusting, very encouraging, and that’s led to the growth to where we are now. 

Do people want to know who you are beyond the Twitter handle?

There’s a curiosity, but I’ve gotten in the habit of using the royal "we" because I try to be mindful of the fact that when I tweet something I’m representing an organization. I’m not the all-speaking voice.

There’s a lot of iteration about “the man behind the curtain.” On game day, there was a tweet that said the intern of the Russell Athletic Bowl Twitter feed is doing a great job. Another time, somebody was upset about something that had nothing to do with the bowl, so the message they sent to me was “pass it up the chain, intern.” 

Now, that’s what everyone in the office says to me when they want me to do something.

I put my personal Twitter account (@MattRepchak) in the bio of the Russell Athletic Bowl handle not to answer those questions [about my identity], but to hold myself accountable if I ever lose my mind and tweet something stupid. Then, Florida Citrus Sports isn’t accountable. 

How did you get connected with Florida Citrus Sports?

When I was finishing up at Northwestern, there was an internship available through the athletic department there in conjunction with the Big Ten office. So I submitted my information through the Big Ten. I ended up speaking with FC Sports and it just so happened that there was a need on the communications side. I just kinda got fortunate.

Have you been running the Russell Athletic Bowl and Capital One Bowl Twitter handles the entire time?

We started out just doing Florida Citrus Sports and our title sponsors had some presence. Capital One was, at the time, using us for the Capital One Mascot Challenge. Champs Sports, at the time, had been dipping its toes in the water. So we presented to them with the idea of running both the Twitter feeds.

How much of your day is spent on Twitter?

(Laughs) It depends on the day. Sometimes not as much as I would like. Game Day is very [Twitter] heavy. When there’s something that we know will generate a lot of conversation around the game, or something related to us like Selection Sunday, I will carve out the time to be on Twitter. 

There are also times when we won’t put anything up. If we’re not able to put out anything meaningful that adds to the conversation, whatever it is, we’ll hang back. Maybe that’s blasphemy in the eyes of other corporate media teams, but we have to contribute when we’re relevant. 

Is there a time when your Twitter usage picks up?

September and October is when we get geared up. October and November, when teams are starting to look at their bowl prospects, is when we’re actively communicating. That’s when we make sure people are aware that we’re out there and part of the community of college football and social media.  

People don’t come into the season aiming for the Russell Athletic Bowl or the Capital One Bowl. I think when they get here they are pleased with it, but we’re not a destination that’s out there until the end of the season. So, in cases where we’re not at the forefront of people’s minds, we just make sure we’re not completely out of sight, out of mind. 

January through July, we try to perk up every once in a while, like with the NFL draft. We’ll pay attention to any of the teams who were in the game last year. We want to make sure we’re pumping out plugs for participating teams. We like to stay advocates/fans.

You tweet so much. How long does your phone battery last?

As we speak, I’m at my second go-around at 63 percent today. I was at about 20 percent by noon. I don’t even think I charged it back up to 100 percent. My battery lasts six to eight hours, depending on what I do with Twitter, email, Dropbox, etc. 

Beyond Twitter, what’s your day like?

My title right now is Director of Digital Media. Since February or March, I’ve been our acting Director of Marketing. A lot of my extra time has been taken up with advertising and general public relations stuff. All the digital media stuff, like producing in-house video and content for our website, that’s taking up a lot of my time as of late.

Louisville beat Miami 36-9 on Saturday. After seeing Cardinals quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in person, what did you think of him?

He’s incredible. We watched a few Louisville games over the course of the season, but there was a lot of focus on the [season-ending Dec. 5] Cincinnati game. To see that game where he had the crazy, scrambling touchdown pass. And then he basically had the same play in our game that wasn’t a touchdown. 

When we got a player like Bridgewater, who is a potential top NFL draft pick, we thought we were going to see a couple good plays. That's absolutely what we got. I didn’t necessarily think it was going to be the Teddy Bridgewater show. But it was nice to have the focus on the game be around a certain player and then have that player deliver a spectacular performance. 

Who’s the funniest coach you’ve ever been around?

It’s hard to rank any coach on the level of South Carolina's Steve Spurrier in terms of quotability. We’re fortunate to have Coach Spurrier back for the Capital One Bowl [vs. Wisconsin on Jan. 1.] He’s an entertaining guy even in a standard media press event. Obviously he had some fun when he was down here earlier this month. 

I’ve always been a fan of Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio. He’s a much funnier and personable guy than people perceive him to be. He’s funny in a deadpan way. 

Ben Kercheval is the lead writer for Big 12 football. All quotes and pictures obtained firsthand unless cited otherwise. You can follow Ben on Twitter @BenKercheval.