Steve Alford Bans Team From Twitter, Threatens Scholarships

New Mexico coach Steve Alford isn't a fan of social networking. In fact, he hates Twitter so much he has banned its use by his players.

All current players already have had to delete their Twitter sites, and incoming freshmen must do the same before arriving on campus. There are no exceptions, not even for Alford's son, Kory, a walk-on freshman.

Alford told the Albuquerque Journal that players are allowed to have Facebook accounts but said all posts would be monitored by the basketball staff.

Any violation of his code of conduct could result in disciplinary action. According to KOAT-TV, Alford has told players that a third violation could result in the player losing his scholarship.

"I just use it to follow all my mates over in the USA, and figured my mates in (Australia) would use it to follow me, too," Hugh Greenwood, an incoming freshman point guard from Australia, told the Journal. "But it’s not a huge deal because I prefer Facebook anyway. I rarely make 'tweets' unless I'm replying to someone else or thanking someone for mentioning me."