The NCAA News - News & Features

Football, women's volleyball stats find new home on web

James F. Wright, NCAA director of statistics, said that early reaction to the online product has been positive, although a number of users have suggested that another option be provided for downloading statistics from the web site.

Currently, the statistics on NCAA Online can be accessed by division and by category (for instance, Division I-A rushing leaders in football). Although breaking down the data in that manner reduces the time required for downloading, a number of users have requested that they be provided with the option of viewing and downloading the entire statistical package for a particular sport. Wright said that technicians are modifying the program for those who want to obtain statistics in that way.

Also, Division I women's volleyball statistics were posted on NCAA Online for the first time September 11. From now until the end of the season, Division I women's volleyball statistics will be available every Wednesday; Divisions II and III statistics will be provided on alternating Thursdays (Division III figures were posted for the first time September 12).

For football, Division I-A and I-AA statistics are available on Sundays, while figures for Divisions II and III will be provided every Tuesday.

The address for NCAA Online is http://www.ncaa.org/.

Once the home page is accessed, an easy-to-use directory guides the user to the statistics.

In addition to NCAA Online, all statistics compiled by the NCAA continue to be available via computer on the Collegiate Sports Network on Compuserve. Those who want to view or download the entire package at once may do so through the Collegiate Sports Network.

For those without access to a computer, statistics also are available through the Info Connection, a 24-hour-a-day fax-on-demand service. The Info Connection is used in the following manner:

* Using the handset of a fax machine, the caller accesses the Info Connection at 770/399-3060.

* The system will request that the caller enter an NCAA passcode. For member institutions, the passcode is 1915; for the general public it is 1925. Media representatives should call 770/399-3066 and use passcode 1905.

* After keying in the appropriate identification passcode, callers then may request information by using numbers listed in a directory that is available through the fax-on-demand system. The directory also will be published in the September 23 issue of The NCAA News.

Request numbers for football and volleyball statistics are:

* Division I-A football: Individual leaders, 1166; team leaders, 1167.

* Division I-AA football: Individual leaders, 1168; team leaders, 1169.

* Division II football: Individual leaders, 1170; team leaders, 1171.

* Division III football: Individual leaders, 1172; team leaders, 1173.

* Division I women's volleyball: 1174

* Division II women's volleyball: 1175

* Division III women's volleyball: 1176.

Because statistics now are available immediately through the use of commonly available technology, The NCAA News no longer will publish weekly reports. Final statistics will be reported in the News as a matter of record.