'Vmag' users obtain online glimpse of college football life

The next technological outlet for institutions to promote their athletics teams and attract recruits has officially entered the video picture. A concept developed by NEWgame Communications known as video magazine (Vmag) allows online subscribers to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the lives of coaches and student-athletes.

The University of Texas at Austin announced earlier this month that it had contracted with the Charlotte, North Carolina, company to produce video segments in a format similar to infomercials. For $24.95, subscribers can receive hour-long Vmags during the football season featuring days in the life of Longhorn football coaches and student-athletes. It is the first agreement of its kind, but indications are that more institutions will make similar arrangements.

NEWgame CEO Kathleen Hessert said her company is talking with Atlantic Coast Conference officials about implementing Vmag systems. The NCAA membership services staff has employed the Vmag format recently to deliver information to schools' compliance coordinators.

"We have other clients who are using this as an admissions tool," Hessert added. "We're also talking to other universities about using this technology for development purposes and alumni relations. Vmag technology can take an already loyal, strong community and powerful brand and create a larger and stronger community around that powerful brand."

Once subscribers receives a Vmag clip, they can view it as often as they'd like. Subscribers are notified via e-mail when a new clip is available. "What this allows a client to do is to send unfiltered, uncluttered messaging to their targeted audiences anytime on a personal computer," Hessert said.

Texas football coach Mack Brown believes the timing is right for the Vmag project.

"We're trying to stay on the cutting edge of new technology," he said. "When you look at what's happening, people are interested in the story even more than just the news. We feel there are some stories to be told, and it's time for us to start telling those stories in a controlled setting."

Coach chronicles victory over Crohn's Disease

It's hard to imagine standing out in a crowd of nearly two million. But Youngstown State University head baseball coach Mike Florak somehow managed to do so.

While Florak is one of almost two million individuals in the United States who have battled Crohn's Disease, a chronic medical condition characterized by inflammation of the bowel or some other colitis, he is one of only a few who have spoken out about it.

In the autobiographical book, "Healthier than Normal," Florak chronicles his 10-year fight with Crohn's that included multiple surgeries and flare-ups (a sudden intensifying of symptoms), as well as his struggle with depression, while managing to pursue his goal of coaching baseball.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, the physical pain was an 11," said Florak. "The emotional and psychological pain of going from being young, active and an athlete to being bedridden -- that was the toughest thing and that's what I wanted to write about. I wanted to let people know that no matter how far you sink, there's always hope. You have to keep saying your prayers and keep fighting."

Florak would know. A standout baseball athlete, his battle began when as a senior in college he started feeling weak and tired. By the end of that year, he knew something was wrong. After 35 days in the hospital, he was diagnosed with an acute case of colitis and, ultimately, with Crohn's Disease. When the disease continued to spread, doctors suggested surgery to remove his large intestine, but Florak resisted for years. Depression eventually set in.

His upward climb through the coaching ranks was interrupted by a total of eight flares and eight surgeries in eight years. The episodes not only lasted for months at a time, but were sometimes so severe that he was bedridden. Finally, forced to make a decision, Florak had surgery to remove his large intestine in late 1996.

Since then, life has been remarkably brighter and Florak enjoys good health. In 1997, he took over the baseball program at Waynesburg College. He came to Youngstown State in fall 1998, and in 2004, guided the squad to its first conference championship in 50 years.

Florak hopes the book, which was released this year, inspires others to overcome similar obstacles. Also, the Mike Florak Book Fund has been established to purchase copies of the book to distribute in hospitals.

For more information, or to order the book, go to www.mikeflorak.com.

-- Compiled by Leilana

Number crunching

Looking back

25 years ago

Here's what was making NCAA news in August 1980:

Responses from football coaches to a survey on the game itself, safety, practice recruiting and playoffs include the following:

• "I would like to see a summit conference of college presidents across the country to redefine the aims and objectives on NCAA football. I'd like to see our leaders become responsible for the amateurism in NCAA football, whereby they and the institution become more responsible for the conduct of their programs instead of merely the coaches. I fear for the future of the game. We must define the direction we wish to go and enforce that direction -- either submit to the growing economic pressures and define the professionalism aspects or maintain the amateur definition with increased sanctions on administrators, colleges and coaches for violations of the amateur goal."

-- Frank Maloney, Syracuse University

• "I sincerely hope that the economic times we're in will help all of college football to draw closer together and be like it used to be. I would hope that everything we do in college football in the 1980s will be for the benefit of the student-athlete and not necessarily for the benefit of the school."

-- Larry Lacewell, Arkansas State University

• "The 1980s will be crucial to the sport of football. The trend of the 1970s has been toward over-exploitation of the program. If this trend continues unchecked through the 1980s, football will lose its value as an educational experience."

-- Jim Kretchman, Northern State University