An element of reckless abandon has long been a part of college life, and that hasn't changed in the 21st century.

But, boy, the access to it has.

Drinking too many beers, adorning walls with pin-up posters of lingerie models or using language your mother would smack you for at home is hardly shocking campus behavior.

However, what used to be restricted to the relative privacy of a dorm room or a fraternity house is now out there for the world at large to see.

UT FOOTBALL PLAYERS' MYSPACE.COM SITES

Please note that some of the MySpace sites may contain explicit content. Andre Mathis Antonio Wardlow Arian Foster Art Evans (Commitment) Chase Nelson Cody Pope Cory Anderson Daryl Vereen (Commitment) David Holbert David Yancey Demetrice Morley Demonte' Bolden Gerald Williams Inquoris Johnson Ja'Kouri Williams Jacques McClendon James Turner Jarod Parrish Jarrod Shaw Jonathan Crompton Jonathan Hefney Jonathan Wade Josh McNeil LaMarcus Coker Lucas Taylor Marsalous Johnson Montario Hardesty Nick Stephens Quintin Hancock Ramon Foster Ricardo Kemp Rico McCoy Robert Ayers Roshaun Fellows Ryan Hill Slick Shelley Steven Jones Todd Campbell Victor Thomas Walter Fisher Wes Brown

College administrators and coaches are scrambling over how to deal with new headaches emerging from Internet sites such as MySpace.com and Facebook.com.

"The issues are significant,'' said University of Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer.

"And it's something you can't just stick your head in the sand and ignore.''

MySpace and Facebook are Internet services that allow members to create a "home page." The sites are wildly popular, with memberships in the millions.

When athletes are involved, their status as public figures can lead to a number of potential problems.

On one hand, they are being judged as representatives of their school and athletic program.

On the other, they are vulnerable to predators, be it gamblers, sports agents or well-meaning but overzealous fans.

"The whole Internet thing, it just horrifies me,'' said University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer.

That's because someone who is an enterprising browser can gain access to all sorts of personal information about athletes.

On MySpace and Facebook, students post photos and personal information such as phone numbers, e-mail contacts and addresses. They can message or blog on any topic and list everything from favorite songs to political leanings.

Unlike MySpace, Facebook is specifically targeted for a campus audience and requires a university e-mail address to view. However, that address encompasses faculty and staff and others - for example, a newspaper employee who is taking classes.

"On Facebook,'' said UT football player Montario Hardesty, "it's college kids. On MySpace, it's everybody in the world.''

UT FOOTBALL PLAYERS' FACEBOOK.COM SITES

NOTE: You need to have a valid school email address (.edu) to be able to view these pages. Cory Anderson Josh Briscoe Chris Brown Wes Brown Sinclair Cannon Britton Colquitt Jonathan Cromton Walter Fisher Ramon Foster Michael Frogg Bo Hardegree Montario Hardesty Justin Harrell Jonathan Hefney David Holbert Jared Hostetter Ryan Karl Ricardo Kemp Andre Mathis Turk McBride Matt McGlothlin Josh McNeil Robert Meachem Xavier Mitchell Demetrice Morley Adam Myers-White Jarod Parrish Malcom Rawls Austin Rogers Chris Scott Arron Sears Slick Shelley Bret Smith Antwan Stewart Jayson Swain Kirk Swearingen Drew Tardy Lucas Taylor James Turner Ian Vinson Todd Vinson Ryan West Dan Williams Ja'Kouri Williams Ellix Wilson Casey Woods David Yancey Eric Young

A sampling of MySpace and Facebook pages for UT athletes is likely typical of any campus. There are lots of sports photos and video links, as well as generic photos of family and friends.

Unlike Facebook's standard format, MySpace pages can be individually designed. Profanity is not uncommon. Photos of scantily clad women are a popular decoration.

"I get a few comments about my page,'' UT senior fullback Cory Anderson said with a chuckle, referring to his gallery of women. "Everybody tells me I've got the best page of anybody.''

Anderson said the main admonition he has heard from the administration is "somebody getting in trouble because they had alcohol on there.''

Some UT athletes' pages contain party photos depicting athletes drinking. One Facebook photo album shows a 19-year-old athlete drinking beer through a funnel as a friend with a stopwatch observes.

"We've talked to our kids about representing themselves well if they're going to do them,'' said Fulmer.

"We will be looking at the sites and monitoring them. So will future employers.''

University of Kentucky football coach Rich Brooks doesn't think college kids understand the implication of their Internet postings.

"I asked my team once,'' Brooks said, "I said, 'What do you think? That you're sending this stuff to five or six of your buddies?'

"Anybody can go there. Employers go on there now. They look at MySpace when they're interviewing people coming out of college, getting background stuff on them.''

Lady Vols basketball player Alexis Hornbuckle poses with an authentic-looking handgun on her Facebook page. Whether the gun is real or not, it's probably not a photo she'll ever use on a professional resume.

UT spokeswoman Tiffany Carpenter said the athletic department is in the process of formulating a policy for Internet activities.

"We talked to them in the spring and that will be part of the fall preseason curriculum,'' Carpenter said.

At least one school, Loyola University in Chicago, has banned its athletes from Facebook. LSU dismissed two swimmers last year because of messages they posted on Facebook.

Another side of the Internet issue is safety. UT athletes frequently list their dorm or apartment address and cell phone number on Facebook.

According to a story in USA Today, a Baylor University assistant basketball coach was checking his players' sites and discovered messages from a sports agent's runner.

"There's no telling who's looking at that stuff, doing what with it,'' said Vanderbilt University football coach Bobby Johnson.

Possible NCAA recruiting infractions are becoming a concern. Kentucky recently self-reported a secondary violation because people purporting to be UK fans were messaging the site of basketball prospect Patrick Patterson encouraging him to choose the Wildcats.

MySpace pages of UT athletes and those who have made recent commitments commonly include messages from posters claiming to be Vol fans.

Although the messages appear harmless, it illustrates that the sites are readily accessible to anyone wanting closer contact with the players.

"That's a very hard area to control,'' said Brad Bertani, UT men's compliance officer. "Technology has surpassed the NCAA's rules.

"But I don't know that anyone thinks they're getting an advantage by something fans post on message boards.''

Still, as Fulmer said, athletic departments can't afford to bury their heads in the sand and ignore them.

Mike Strange covers University of Tennessee athletics. He may be reached at 865-342-6276.

© 2006, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.