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Posts Tagged ‘NCAA’

Written by Bulletin Staff
Thursday, 12 April 2012 14:51
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Sarah Johnson was featured in the T-Mobile ad.

In a local T-Mobile advertisement, Corky appeared with Emporia State cheerleaders and coaches, an arrangement which ESU Athletics say is mutually valuable for the business and university.

“That is what corporate partnerships are, beneficial to both parties,” said Kent Weiser, athletic director. “If we are not driving business to their store, they are not going to advertise with us.”

The ad showed Corky in the T-Mobile store, ending with head football coach Garin Higgins in Welch Stadium with Hornet cheerleaders, endorsing T-Mobile and encouraging attendance at games. The commercial was updated for the basketball season with a version featuring men’s head basketball coach Shaun Vandiver and women’s coach Jory Collins.

While NCAA rules prohibit athletes from endorsing products, no rules were broken since cheerleaders are not considered athletes under Title IX in the NCAA manual.

But some disagree and say cheerleaders are, in fact, athletes.

“I definitely consider cheerleaders athletes – other athletes lift weights, we lift people,” said Mallory Baird, senior elementary education major and Hornet cheerleader. “I know a lot of cheerleaders don’t compete, but we work just as hard as any other sport and I have had so many injuries in my life from cheering. It is the second hardest sport there is. It is a fact. I definitely, definitely don’t think we get enough recognition. But I know I am an athlete.”

Travis Sipe, freshman wildlife biology major and cross-country runner, said he considers cheerleaders to be athletes because they are treated as such by the university.

“But since they are not considered athletes by the NCAA, I don’t think it was wrong for them to be in the commercial,” Sipe said. “I would have done the same thing.”

The ad was authorized on an “approved basis,” by Weiser, meaning the final product had to be approved by him and university marketing

Cheerleaders receive scholarships in the same manner as official student athletes under Emporia State rules and must maintain the same grades as their colleagues.

Weiser said he assumes the NCAA does not consider cheerleaders athletes because cheerleading is not a competitive sport.

“We still require them to maintain grades and work towards their degrees, but that isn’t NCAA rules,” Weiser said. “We hold them kind of to a high standard.”

Weiser said neither the university nor the people involved in the commercial received anything extra from T-Mobile and that the coaches and cheerleaders volunteered. He said it was part of the sponsorship with T-Mobile in which they receive about $6,000 a year.

“We benefit from it certainly financially with their support, but then also it brings awareness to our teams and encourages people to attend and support them,” Weiser said. “When you create partnerships you have to be creative. We don’t let anybody do it and we have to approve them all, but I personally don’t think there is anything wrong with that.”

Weiser said he would be open for more commercials in the future but has no current plans for making another.

Rocky Robinson

When cold winds blow, dress in layers for best results.(Health & Fitness)(Fitness focus)

Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) September 13, 2004 Byline: Nicki Anderson Q. As the weather starts to cool down, what is the best gear to wear for outdoor activity? site athleta coupon code

A. When it comes to cold-weather attire, you should always think in layers. Fall weather can be unpredictable with cool mornings and warm afternoons, or even cool weather with high humidity. Dressing in layers will allow you to adapt appropriately to weather conditions as you exercise.

When shopping for workout clothes, pay attention to the available fabrics first. Look for fabrics that wick moisture from your skin and are lightweight. As you increase the number of layers, be sure to choose styles that will be easy to remove, such as a zip-down vest or jacket. Each layer serves a specific purpose in your exercise comfort and safety.

“Start with a lightweight, breathable shirt as the base layer right next to your skin,” recommends Tami Anderson, marketing director at Athleta, which specializes in women’s athletic wear.

Tempo by Athleta or Climalite by Adidas are two examples of performance fabrics made of a wicking polyester blend with a mesh weave. Tops with a slightly contoured fit are perfect for easy layering.

Anderson suggests a heavier fabric for your second layer – in a synthetic rather than cotton. A synthetic fabric works to wick (moisture) to the surface where it can evaporate, and “this helps to warm the air between the layers while regulating your body temperature,” she says. go to website athleta coupon code

For your third layer, she suggests something with a zip neck to keep the cold air out, but which you can simply zip and unzip again and again to regulate your body temperature as you warm up.

“If conditions are windy and/or misty you should add some type of lightweight jacket that is breathable,” she says. “If you don’t have something that is breathable, then all of the perspiration that you’ve wicked through your first two layers will just gather on the inside of your jacket, making you overheat during your workout and then (chilled) when you take it off at the end.” Anderson recommends the Precip Jacket by Marmot, which is wind- resistant and waterproof. “It’s a great value for under $100 that works well for a wide variety of outdoor sports, from cycling to hiking to running,” she says.

And don’t forget that hydration is just as important in cold weather as in warm weather. Many people think because they don’t feel the sun’s heat as strongly in the winter as they do in the summer, that hydration isn’t as crucial. They’re wrong. You can become dehydrated just as easily out in the winter elements as the summer, so be sure to put that water bottle in your carry pouch.

Visit www.athleta.com to see a selection of women’s cool-weather workout gear, or call (888) 322-5515. Or visit www.roadrunnersports.com to check out styles for both men and women.

Trainer tip: No matter what amount of weight you have to lose, lifting weights should be part of the process. Many people think they should only do cardiovascular work and lose weight before starting weight training. But strength training plays a key role in speeding up your metabolism, thereby enhancing your weight loss efforts.

- Nicki Anderson is a certified personal trainer, author and owner of Reality Fitness in Naperville. Contact her at RealityFitness1@@aol.com or see www.realityfitness.com.

Hornets’ Page looks to ‘rush’ team to top of MIAA

Written by Bulletin Staff
Thursday, 20 August 2009 16:59
3 Comments

PAGE

Newcomer La’Darrian Page, junior physical education major, is no stranger to success on the gridiron. After rushing for 1,254 yards and 14 touchdowns as a freshman for Missouri Western, and rushing for 1,340 yards and 10 touchdowns at Hutchinson Community College, Page said he looks to improve on his numbers as a Hornet.

“He brings great work ethic,” said Gary Manuel, co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach. “That’s the reason why he’s been a successful football player at every school he’s been to. At Missouri Western, he was a good football player there. At Hutchinson Community College, he was Offensive Player of the Year for the Jayhawk Conference. Everyday he comes ready to work, regardless of how he feels.”

Page was optimistic about the start of the season.

“As long as we start off fast and on the right track, once we get going we should have a pretty successful season,” Page said.

Ben McKaig, sophomore offensive lineman and secondary math education major, said he enjoys throwing blocks for Page and what Page brings to the team.

“He’s got a great personality and is a fun-loving guy,” McKaig said. “As far as on the field, he’s a great player and explosive athlete. He’s fast.”

Page does not believe that mediocrity will be on the team’s agenda. Page and the rest of the Hornets have set the expectations high for themselves this year.

“Obviously we want to win a conference championship and go deep in the playoffs,” Page said. “We feel like we have a different team than last year. As far as myself, I want to have a successful season.”

Page is confident he has what it takes to lead not only himself, but his team to victory.

“I want to rush for 1,000 yards and help the team win,” he said.

Although it took some time, Page found his niche at Emporia. The coaches and the school itself played a major role in bringing Page to ESU.

“I felt confident in the coaches. I felt like they would keep their word. I felt like they were the coolest group of coaches that I visited with,” Page said.

It would also appear that the transformation from a junior college to a Division II school was a walk in the park.

“For the most part, it’s been successful,” he said. “I like Emporia. It’s a great school and a great program. It’s a notch up from the JUCO level.”

Page, however, is not all business. He does enjoy kicking back and relaxing when he can. In his free time, Page enjoys picking up the “sticks” and playing an occasional video game or two.

“I like playing Call of Duty and NBA 2K9,” Page said. “I’m an Xbox guy.”

The Hornets look to improve on last year’s 2-7 MIAA record, along with their 4-7 combined record.

The team opens the season with a home game against the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Aug. 27 at Welch Stadium. Coaches and players said they encourage all students to come out and show their support for the Hornets this season.

Zac Burt/The Bulletin

The Super Duper List of Groupon Clones in India [18 and counting].

Pluggdin (Bangalore, India) March 4, 2011 India, March 4 — It’s been exactly a year since we spotted the trend of group buying sites or Groupon clones mushrooming everywhere. The past year has been actioned filled and mostly the center of attention in the startup ecosystem. SnapDeal was leading the game all along with boatload of marketing $$s being pumped in, the one thing that hasn’t yet changed. SnapDeal was testing the ads on the big ecommerce network Ebay, who has also entered the space.

The best bet of local content players entering the market is also seeing action with BuzzInTown launching a deals section and Taggle riding on AskLaila’s reach. The big daddy of all news was the attack of the original, Groupon entered India with acquisition of a relatively unknown SoSasta.

Groupon will be ramping up its India operations in full swing soon. There has been criticism and dis-interest from VCs and investors all over the world around the scalability and sustainability of this model given the army of sales guys required to get a new deal up everyday but that does not seem to stop Groupon from doing an IPO early next year.

Group Bargain Deals Google India also revived its self service “coupons” feature in Google places which might be a scalable model but for now they are facing challenge with user education and spam. For Google it seems more of an acknowledgement system saying, “I generated this lead for you” then actually any direct revenue source. Though in future the “Offers/coupons” might be the default ad copy for local businesses on Google Adsense.

Between all this we have unconfirmed news of biggies like Indiatimes, Rediff (this is confirmed) and few print media players entering this space.

Here’s a roundup of all the groupon clones we have come across till date in no particular order. The list is non-exhaustive, if you know of more mail us at naman at pluggd dot in. We will add it here.

1. SnapDeal – They are the leaders in terms of traffic with Alexa India rank under 25. That is more traffic than Naukri or IRCTC, making it the No.1 ecommerce portal in India in terms of traffic. Yes, I just said that.

Not only that but it has actually crossed Groupon.com’s reach in terms of global traffic (Alexa). How much did they spend to get there? How many transactions/revenue do they do per day? Well, we will keep that for the founders to reveal. SnapDeal is a one of the only ecommerce player, apart from OTAs to take up the TVCs route (to best of my knowledge).

Bangalore based Grabbon was acquired by SnapDeal and according to the founder that was the turning point for them. They are lately aiming to be THE place for deals and offers with even deals from institutes like NIIT on offer. I have been a big critique of SnapDeal’s execution strategy all along but it seems the marketing $s can actually buy you all the attention in world and in course a multi Bn. $ Rs. valuation also. website groupon san diego

Startups, they are into a different ball game. They are good at what they are trying to achieve with SnapDeal, the way they want to achieve it. Don’t burn your fingers by replicating or following them. The game is beyond our playground.

Oh, did i mention they roped in a deal for date with Gul Panag.

2. Taggle – $8.75Mn funding is what got it the initial attention. Traffic is rising steadily with a major upbreak in mid-January. Advertising is driving traffic but the spend isn’t much. They have about 187K fans on Facebook but the activity is really negligible. The whole idea of mixing ecommerce with social reach of consumers seems to be almost dead in all other sites as well.

3. MyDala – This was my favorite in terms of quality of deals but with time the edge is lost. Traffic is pretty much stable. 54K fas on Facebook with little to no activity.

4. Koovs.com – Traffic is seeing new high since new year. They are bringing in electronics on sale as well. Not much action apart from Delhi / Bangalore. Exclusive local deals just seem to be missing.

5. SoSasta/Groupon India – The action seems to be just starting here. The ads are getting more visibility lately. Surely will be the player to watch out for. For now they either have repeated deals from other competitors or it is mostly ecommerce deals. They have all the insights from their global presence but will the international strategy work in India?

6. Dealivore – Traffic is very unstable and on a downtrend. The 306K fan base seems to be sleeping. The team hasn’t shown anything remarkable yet. They already claim to have spent over Rs.2Crs. and this is the reason why Zuckerberg is so rich.

7. DealsAndYou – The founders hate me for their acquisition announcement that we covered earlier but I will try and reciprocate some love (while being neutral). The fanpage with 171K fans is the most active amongst all the above players. Their initial stand of making it a mix of social media promotion + lead generation for local businesses seems to be strong. They are also exploring a dedicated section for travel/holiday deals. The ad spend is aggressive and they stand second to SnapDeal in terms of traffic.

8. BuzzInTown – Their long standing content play is definitely visible on the fan page. Their updates about deals get double the feedback as compared to DealsAndYou, though same in % of fans. The presence is only in Delhi and Mumbai, with Bangalore being added lately. The portal is willing to spend Rs.25 per new registration for the deals(DGM) which seems to be a sensible UAC but isn’t very low. As far as I remember they were earlier spending Rs.10 per registration during non-deals days. They haven’t entered deals for electronic products yet which is a sign of the fact that they have more in the kitty to show before they give up, if they ever do. go to site groupon san diego

9. Ebay – The big daddy of e-commerce is still testing its local deals app with presence in Delhi and Mumbai. It is certainly giving a step-motherly treatment to local deals though. Who in the world came up with the URL koupananIndia.ebaysocialapps.com. Its even difficult to find a link from ebay.in to this app. No doubt the traffic is so poor. They are barely able to sell 3-4 deals for every offer.

10. Groffr.com – One player that is actually standing out with deals for high value purchases like real estate, cars, bikes etc. They seem to have some offline action as well. Activity is mostly around Mumbai.

11. Groopoffers.com – These guys are trying to achieve everything with deals on restaurants, salons, real estate and products. The action seem to alive and building up, may be they will make some buzz.

12. Coupon2Buy – A relatively new player that is not showing much action and not doing anything remarkable yet. The deals are just getting started in Delhi, Pune and Mumbai.

13. CityOffers.in – Based out of Ahmedabad the action here is around this city only. Again a very new site with not much moolah to get in the race.

14. Foodome – Based out of Chennai these guys are concentrating on restaurants deals and home delivery of food only. Absolutely no marketing at all till now.

15. Dealmagic – Not sure if these guys are starting up or shutting down as they have no live deals. The fanpage hasn’t seen any update in past 3 weeks.

16. Masthideals – Not sure what they are upto. The “h” in the name suggests they are south India based, Chennai indeed. No deals live currently, past deals were around beauty salons and electronics mostly.

17. Groupon.in – Started as Groupoff they claim to have acquired the “Groupon” trademark in India. Deals are decent and traffic seems to be building now.

18. Scoopstr.com – Based out of Bangalore with presence in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore. Deals are decent, not much to talk about.

If we missed covering you, drop us a line at naman at pluggd dot in. If you are in the list, feel free to throw brickbats in the comments without getting personal.

Finding these too much to track for a deal? We will have a list of their aggregators as well very soon.

If you managed to read till here do share what you think of this space. Is there a serious business model in deal aggregator model now?

For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company

NCAA should reward, not penalize collegiate athletic programs

Written by Bulletin Staff
Thursday, 05 February 2009 14:37
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CODY GRAUBERGER

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is responsible for many athletics, but often people do not realize the affect that collegiate sports can have on a school. Collegiate sports should be a privilege for the school and not a financial burden. By participating in collegiate sports, students build a reputation for their college and students should be rewarded, not penalized for having adequate facilities.

For centuries, the NCAA has governed college sports of all kinds, but who governs the NCAA? A report by the NCAA recently shed light on the issue of the real fiscal value of sports programs, revealing that money given by the NCAA in order to fund sporting events is a very gray area indeed. Only five percent of Division One schools actually earn a profit on sports programs.

In an effort to better explain the situation, Myles Brand, the president of the NCAA, cumulated a report explaining that collegiate athletics are growing at an insurmountable rate and it is hard to keep up with the funding needs of each individual college. With such high competition, some colleges have built million dollar facilities to attract athletes and coaches to come participate on their teams.

For instance, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has a track that is hydraulically lifted at each end to enhance the runner’s posture and speed around the turns and can be lowered promptly to accommodate hurdling events as well. Undoubtedly this was paid for by student fees, tuition and donations, all of which do not qualify for reimbursement.

The NCAA provides revenue funding for seating arrangements. However, things such as parking, concessions and merchandise do not qualify for reimbursement. These three components play a key role in attracting spectators and consumers to events, although one can easily see the injustice that prevails.

The basketball arena at Mississippi State seats 10,500 people. Of those, 3,500 are credited free of charge to students year round, amounting to nearly $2 million annually. The NCAA deems those free seats non credible for reimbursement because fees were paid for by students, which is considered financial support, when in reality, most colleges rely on student fees for sport costs already.

Other schools such as the University of Texas give students the optional annual fee of $70 to attend any athletic event, amounting to $1.7 million a year. This is also categorized as student fees and is not reimbursable.

For many years, athletic directors have spent much time and effort to account for parking and concessions. Many argue that they just want to receive rightful credit for their revenues. However, others point out that parking should not be counted because parking areas are not only used for sporting events and there is no way to tell which parking lots are used for what when revenue reimbursement data is collected.

However, some colleges do get such reimbursement when deemed appropriate by the NCAA. Such colleges qualify because they have specified arena parking used only for sporting events. Many do not qualify because their athletic parking is not excluded from their public parking or student parking.

Collegiate sports can create large revenue for the school and can greatly affect things such as renovations to the school and sports arenas which, in turn, can be used to hire teachers and coaches alike and can provide up to date books for students and athletes.

The United States is in a recession and budgets are pinched worldwide. However, as the unemployment rates go up, so does the rate of citizens attending college. Because of this, colleges should not be penalized for participating in sports, but rather rewarded by receiving additional revenue.

Cody Grauberger/The Bulletin

Commercialization: NCAA and colleges should reach agreement

Written by Bulletin Staff
Monday, 26 January 2009 15:26
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With the growth in popularity of college sports, commercialization is much different now than in past years. Though there are good and bad connotations to commercializing college athletes, changes should be made to accommodate both NCAA and college sports programs.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association claims that if you were to define the commercialism of athletics, it can be as simple as ticket sales and advertising. But commercialism is not as refined as it is presented to be.

Recently, the press has released information regarding the NCAA’s over commercialization of its student athletes.

In an article published by The Chronicle of Higher Education, many teachers and university presidents feel that the NCAA does not handle the exploitive commercialization of student athletes in a timely manner and criticize the NCAA for their lack of response on the issue.

According to Wallace Renfro, a senior advisor for the NCAA, they receive an average of over $500 million in endorsements each year from CBS. Renfro said the NCAA does not retain ownership over any of the players or their rights.

However, in an attempt to reconcile these differences, a letter was written to CBS in hopes to lessen the amount of collegiate commercialization, stating that such things could jeopardize the athletes’ eligibility.

In 1989, CBS paid $1 billion in addition to its annual endorsements in order to keep exclusive coverage over NCAA tournaments. With an additional $1 billion, the NCAA could alleviate many financial issues in collegiate sports.

It has been suggested that for a school to get a higher percentage of the money, allocation should be determined by their graduation rate.

Craig Krenzel, a former Ohio State University quarterback drafted to the NFL in 2004, recognized that the key difference between collegiate and professional football was being compensated for playing. Although the money that students receive is not in hand, they are compensated in tuition, books and the liberty to do something they enjoy.

Krenzel suggested the idea that a portion of the money the NCAA and CBS get from advertisements is to be used towards post graduate scholarships for athletes and collegiate sports. In addition, coaching salaries exceeding that of the university presidents should decompensate to be made more equal.

Societies ongoing expectations of professional football players have moved on to college football, making collegiate sports equally sought after and commercialized as professional.

With such easy access to entertainment, such as the internet, television, radio and publications, it is hard to control the amount of commercialism today.

To adjust to the new times, a committee or commission needs to be implemented to protect athletes from being extorted by greedy corporations.

With such a large endorsement from CBS and virtually no authority without universities’ consent, the NCAA would hold little jurisdiction in swaying either side.

With little jurisdiction and such a large budget, who is to guarantee the funds will be distributed accordingly?

Cody Grauberger/The Bulletin