ACS News

ACS Athletics Customer Q&A: Liberty University

Beginning with the 2008-09 academic year, Liberty University began using the ACS InControl™ software to centralize student-athlete information.  Previously, the staff at Liberty was forced to manage this information in paper files and spent an enormous amount of time collecting and organizing student-athlete information.  Further, once the information was filed, it was of little or no use to the Liberty staff.  With ACS InControl™, Liberty has the ability to build rosters and maintain up-to-date student-athlete files by collecting and storing the information electronically.  This includes general contact information, automobile registration, employment, academic data, financial aid, complimentary admissions and much more.

ACS Athletics took time recently to sit down with Mike Hagen, Liberty’s assistant athletic director for compliance, to gain his perspective after two years of managing student-athlete information using ACS InControl™:

ACS:       What features of ACS InControl™ have you found to be the most beneficial?

MH:       We’ve really enjoyed the chance to centralize our information, and having everyone from the compliance, academics, and athletic training staffs viewing a single roster has reduced confusion.

ACS:       How has having a centralized student-athlete information management system benefitted the Liberty University athletics department?

MH:       Our department hasn’t been plugged in effectively to the University’s information management system for quite some time. The use of ACS has allowed us to simplify data management, from contact information to mass emailing, and the processes have greatly improved.

ACS:       How has converting your hard-copy student-athlete forms to a web-based process improved efficiencies?

MH:       We were able to get rid of quite a few filing cabinets. Most NCAA forms were collected once (per year) in a mass meeting at the beginning of the year, then filed and never seen again. Now we can confirm that the correct information was submitted within minutes and not worry about masses of paper. It’s also allowed us to spend more time on important information during pre-season meetings rather than talking students through the forms.

ACS:       Since implementing ACS, have you found that you and your staff now have additional time to focus in other key areas?  If so, what areas?

MH:       Absolutely. As most compliance professionals can probably relate, the NCAA required forms (that are completed) at the beginning of the year take days to sort through, verify, organize, and file. Since we’ve gone to the online system, we no longer spend time checking for signatures, tracking down student-athletes at practice to get missing signatures, and boring our student-athletes during beginning of the year meetings. We’re now able to spend August on more important things, a definite relief for that time of the year.

ACS:       Does anyone other than the compliance staff use the system?  If so, how, and what type of feedback have you received from those users?

MH:       We’re also using ACS for our complimentary tickets. We’ve set up a great system to pre-approve each guest prior to competitions and the ticket office has been very appreciative. This has reduced plenty of headaches from coaches, director of operations, the ticket office, and student-athletes.

ACS:       What would you say to someone that is considering purchasing the ACS InControl™ system if asked for your opinion?

MH:       It’s worth the time to explore which areas of your department are currently working inefficiently. ACS has several options which can make routine processes simpler and quicker. As our student-athletes are so familiar with online systems for every other area of their life, they adapted instantly to the online processes. They’ve grown to appreciate the system and so have our coaches.

If you would like more information about ACS InControl™, please contact us at (800) 343-6220 or via email at sales@acsathletics.com.

ACS Athletics releases latest SideLINE eNewsletter

ACS Athletics Sponsoring Free NAAC Convention Registrations!

As the 2010 NAAC Convention Title Sponsor and Official Technology Consultant, ACS Athletics is proud to announce that it will sponsor one free NAAC Convention registration per month leading up to the event.  To be eligible, you must be a NAAC member and have registered with NAACConnect.com.  Winners will be selected each month via a random drawing by NAAC staff.  If you have not registered, please visit http://www.NAACConnect.com to sign up and become eligible to win!

Our January winner is Carolyn O’Connell of Loyola University Chicago.  Congratulations Carolyn!!  ACS Athletics is also excited to announce that Zachary Pendelton of Weber State University and Kate Charipar of the University of Utah are the big winners of a free NAAC Convention registration as part of a separate promotion in November.  Congratulations to Zachary and Kate!

Don’t delay in registering for the NAAC Convention being held on June21-22 at the Marriott Hotel in Anaheim, California.   Future winners of the drawing who are already registered for the convention will have their registration payments refunded.   Visit http://www.NAACConnect.com today!

Bo Kerin and ACS Athletics host two informational webinars on February 18th and 19th

Race to the Top: If you don’t have a plan, you’re planning to fail…or at least finish last.

It’s 2010, but are you still operating like its 1990? To stay ahead of the competition and control costs, athletic departments must break old cycles of operational inefficiency. Poor information management practice, communication bottlenecks and cumbersome paper-trails stifle coach productivity, increase compliance risks and add additional overhead. This all adds up to create a less than favorable environment and experience for student-athletes. During this webinar series, we will present on how ACS is helping athletic departments execute a plan for transitioning their student-athlete centric operations and information management practices into the 21^st century. Get the ACS Advantage in 2010. Change the game. Get InControl.

Please join, Bo Kerin, ACS Athletics Regional Director of Sales and former intercollegiate athletics administrator, on February 18^th or 19^th for a Webinar demonstration of ACS InControl Baseline, an integrated department-wide technology solution for recruiting, compliance monitoring and student-athlete information management.  You may register for the demonstrations by clicking on the links below.  We look forward to visiting with you!

ACS Athletics Informational Webinar
Date: Thursday, February 18, 2010
Time: 10:30 am, Central Standard Time
Register for this time slot at:

https://assistantcoach.webex.com/assistantcoach/j.php?ED=132988422&RG=1&UID=0&RT=MiM3

ACS Athletics Informational Webinar
Date: Friday, February 19, 2010
Time: 2:00 pm, Central Standard Time
Register for this time slot at:

https://assistantcoach.webex.com/assistantcoach/j.php?ED=132988527&RG=1&UID=0&RT=MiM3

Student-Athlete Life-Cycle Management Challenging for NCAA Division III Institutions

Although each division within the NCAA has its own unique identity, one common theme exists among them all:  The ability to properly manage information related to the student-athlete life-cycle.  The student-athlete life-cycle begins when the student-athlete is being recruiting by the institution and continues until he or she graduates, and managing this information is especially challenging in NCAA Division III.

The challenges begin during the recruiting process and often involve the interaction between the athletics department, admissions and financial aid office. “Communication is often the most pressing and constant challenge,” said Travis Feezell, a former Division III athletics director. “The crux of the challenge is that you are working often with three ‘independent’ but mutually dependent offices on campus. Each has its own mission and duties, and yet they rely on one another, particularly for information on individual student-athletes, to fulfill those things. It’s tough stuff.”  Chris Martin, Commissioner of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, echoed those sentiments.  “The biggest challenge seems to be coordinating the various recruiting efforts across the various offices,” Martin said. “Ensuring that campus offices such as athletics, admissions and financial aid are communicating about various students is essential in recruiting success.”

Another challenge for Division III institutions during the recruiting process is developing a unique brand via marketing efforts and effectively building a “pool” of prospective student-athletes (PSA’s) that will be easily integrated into the institution.  “Because of the tuition-driven nature of some institutions, the roster size rather than the competitiveness of the team is most crucial,” Feezell said.  “And if this is the case, then building an appropriately sized pool of potential recruits is even more crucial. How do you appeal to a pool of this size? How do you make that pool ‘come alive’ and apply to the school? How do you differentiate yourself from others in the same boat? And ultimately, how in fact should you build that pool?”

Feezell also indicated that once student-athletes enrolled and began attending classes, coaches access to information was limited, as providing access to student-athlete information often also provided access to non-student-athlete information.  Creating a central location for coaches, athletics department staff members and campus administrators to access critical information can alleviate these day-to-day challenges.  “Technology (could provide) a central holding place of information that allows interested parties to access and input information … it should be a ‘one-stop’ shop in this case, the place EVERYONE goes to,” Feezell added.

Martin agreed, adding, “Any system that allows coaches and recruiters to streamline the recruiting process would be helpful and will continue to assist in the recruiting process.  Technology certainly can play a big role in allowing various campus entities, such as admissions and athletics, to be more efficient in their communications and marketing for PSAs.”

With the ACS InControl Baseline system for NCAA Division III institutions, coaches, admissions and financial aid directors will have the ability to effectively and collaboratively develop recruiting campaigns and manage prospective student-athlete information in order to meet institutional initiatives. Once the prospective student-athlete matriculates to the institution, all of the information collected during the recruiting process is carried over to the student-athlete database as the life-cycle continues.  ACS provides technology solutions and integrates all of the critical student-athlete information into one platform which may be accessed by any designated user.  From this integrated platform, all recruiting and student-athlete information is maintained and updated over the course of the student-athlete life-cycle, creating a complete record of all activities associated with that individual.  Further, with the ACS InControl software suite, student-athletes may complete and submit required NCAA and institutional forms electronically through a secure password-protected portal.  Not only does this reduce the need for paper, save time and improve communication, the collected data may be used to create various reports for use by the institution in identifying recruiting trends, demographics and much more.  Finally, for institutions looking for a higher level of integration, ACS Athletics offers an application programming interface (API) for InControl. This capability allows the athletics department to share data with other on-campus systems, helping to improve efficiencies and communication among all stakeholders across campus.

For more information, please contact ACS Athletics at (800) 343-6220 or sales@acsathletics.com.