NCAA Football kicks off Internet, campus enhancement

This year, college football fans will be able to check television listings for their favorite teams on one Internet site, and they'll also be able to view football polls and results for all NCAA divisions on that same site -- www.ncaafootball.net.

The NCAA Football program, in its fifth season, is expanding its Internet site to include the listings. Fans also can read college football news on the site, view a slide show from the NCAA Football television program "The Slant" and play football trivia.

NCAA Football is a promotional vehicle for the betterment of college football resulting from a coalition among the NCAA, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, the American Football Coaches Association and Collegiate Commissioners Association. Host Communications administers the program.

NCAA Football again will be making campus appearances with its "Skills and Drills" program, which gives college football fans a chance to experience the excitement of the game.

Students and football fans of all ages can experience various interactive events this season at no charge at the University of Texas at Austin; Northwestern University; the University of Oklahoma; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; Pennsylvania State University; and the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.

NCAA Football also has produced helmet logos, public service announcements and other related materials for use by member institutions in promoting NCAA football.

NASO films PSA to recruit more officials

The National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) has produced the first public service announcement in the organization's 21-year history.

The 30-second video, titled "Be a Ref. Make the call!" has been created in response to the association's finding in a January survey that 90 percent of the states report a shortage of officials at the high-school level. That shortage also is of concern to the college game since most college officials come from the high-school ranks at some point.

"Our goal is to help local associations recruit talented people and to put a positive impression of officials before the public," said NASO President Barry Mano. "NASO has provided the tool; now it's up to local officials to put the plan into action in their communities."

The PSA, which was directed by Hollywood commercial and documentary producer Leland Hammerschmitt, highlights seven officials who cite personal reasons why officiating is meaningful to them. The PSA provides NASO's Web site address and toll-free number; it also can be customized with a local contact number.

Several cable stations across the nation already have agreed to run the spot during high-school programming.

"It is our belief that local sports programs, as well as national programs, will have an interest in supporting this campaign," Mano said. "It's easy for the fan to sit in front of the television and say, 'I can do that.' We're saying, 'Come on! Let us teach you how.' "

For more information, see the NASO Web site at www.naso.org, or call at 800/733-6100.

SID takes things play by play in Pittsburgh

Joe Klimchak, sports information director at Grove City College, has a part-time job that many baseball fans would envy.

Since 1994, Klimchak has served as the backup public address announcer for Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates. He has worked 18 games in the eight-year span, the most recent coming in a relief appearance.

Klimchak closed out the game, getting the opportunity to announce Tony Gwynn's last at-bat in Pittsburgh when he came on as a pinch-hitter in the top of the eighth.

The Pirates are 12-6 in Klimchak's 18 outings.

-- Compiled by Kay Hawes

Number Crunching

Looking back

September 1979 -- The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) begins full-time sports programming September 7 via RCA's Satcom 1, Transponder No. 7, to cable television systems throughout the U.S. Among ESPN's early offerings is an interview with NCAA President William J. Flynn.

(The NCAA News, September 30, 1979)

Rising costs in all areas have created a reduction in squad sizes in many sports, and increasing expenses in football are dictating economies, in some instances at the expense of other sports.

Additional problems of funding are posed by the rapidly expanding participation in women's sports.

(The NCAA News, September 15, 1974)

For the record

Some notable hires from the NCAA Record during the summer/fall of 1988: Missouri director of athletics Jack Lengyel named to the same post at Navy ... Roy Williams, an assistant men's basketball coach at North Carolina for 10 years, named as head coach at Kansas ... Alfreeda Goff named as one of three interim tri-head women's basketball coaches at Virginia Commonwealth ... Chris Voelz named as women's AD at Minnesota ... Tommy Amaker selected as an assistant men's basketball coach at Duke ... Jim Berkman appointed as head men's lacrosse coach at Salisbury State ... Jennifer Moshak joined the athletic training staff at Penn State after stints at Tennessee and Western Michigan ... Richard Ensor named as commissioner of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference ... Nathan Salant selected as commissioner of the Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Conference ... Jon Steinbrecher appointed as director of compliance and sports information at Houston Baptist.