When publication of The NCAA News began nearly 40 years ago, editor Wiles Hallock introduced it as "brand-spankin' new, a brainchild so to speak, which, it is hoped, will mature, and like all children, learn gradually its capabilities and limitations."

With this issue, the News continues its maturing process with the introduction of a new look. Like most middle-agers, this publication is updating its appearance a bit, maybe hiding a few of those touches of gray, and perhaps giving one last nostalgic nod to the good ol' days before moving into the future.

While some features -- like the NCAA Calendar or summaries of Convention legislation -- have remained staples of the publication since that inaugural March 1964 issue, others have come and gone. A couple of features have been around for quite a while, such as the NCAA Record, which first appeared in 1970. Others are relatively recent developments: Briefly in the News first appeared in the late 1980s, and News Digest debuted in 1993.

Other regular features have been dropped from the News over time, including, effective with this issue, the long-running Legislative Assistance column (which -- in recognition of its continuing value to a segment of the NCAA membership -- lives on in digital form in the Web-based Legislative Services Database at NCAA Online).

And even the frequency of publication for the News has changed, from only three to six times annually during the mid-1960s, to more or less monthly during the late '60s, to anywhere from 13 to 16 times annually during the 1970s and then 46 times a year (including weekly during the academic year) from 1982 through mid-1998 -- when the News adopted its current frequency of 26 issues per year while making greater use of NCAA Online for time-sensitive material.

The one thing that has not changed is the effort to provide the NCAA membership with crucial information about where the Association is now and where it is headed -- and, occasionally, where it has been been.

The News' new look is intended to improve the publication's readability (by slightly increasing the size of the type) and appearance (through various tools that seek to make each page more attractive and inviting to the reader, such as placing fewer articles on the front page). New features include a more informative index to an issue's contents on page 1. Editors also will seek to employ photography and page layout more creatively throughout each issue.

This and future issues also will be printed on a whiter paper stock than in the past.

However, the publication will not waver from its long-time philosophy of providing full coverage of the Association's governance and committee structure, championships and activities at member institutions, and commentary about current issues.