The NCAA News - News and Features

November 17, 1997

NCAA Welcome Center concept to debut at soccer championships

Until this fall, one of college athletics' little ironies has been that it is not easy to acquire information about the Association at NCAA championship events.

That will change beginning in December.

Starting with the final round of the Division I Women's Soccer Championship December 5 and 7 at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, the NCAA will host "Welcome Centers" at selected Division I events. Three each are scheduled for fall, winter and spring championships.

In addition to women's soccer, Welcome Centers are planned at eight other Division I championships in the 1997-98 academic year: baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, ice hockey, men's lacrosse, men's soccer, women's softball and women's volleyball.

The Welcome Centers will be staffed with national office personnel who will assist fans who wish to know more about the NCAA. In addition to extensive printed material about the Association, the Welcome Centers will feature computer displays that will provide daily access to NCAA Online, the Association's World Wide Web site.

The championship sessions of the nine championships at which Welcome Centers will be featured this year attracted 445,000 spectators in 1995-96. The program is expected to expand in future years to involve championships in other divisions.

Fans will be provided with information pieces such as the general information brochure, The NCAA News, the championships dates and sites brochure, the "Wanna Play/Know the Rules" brochure on initial-eligibility standards, the fax-on-demand directory, and fact sheets on programs such as the National Youth Sports Program and Youth Education through Sports (YES).

Other information, such as sponsorship lists for particular sports, could be made available.

In addition, fans will be provided with information on how to order tickets to future NCAA championships and how to acquire NCAA merchandise and NCAA publications.

The display space will be shared with the local chamber of commerce, the appropriate national governing body and NCAA corporate partners.

The displays will be generic and will not require any championship-specific alterations.