Calendar

• 2003-04 Championships TV Ratings
• NCAA Online -- Association's redesigned Web site to launch September 6
• FOOTBALL RULES -- Applications for eye shields need medical documentation

NCAA ONLINE

Association's redesigned Web site to launch September 6

Members logging on to the NCAA's Web site as of September 6 will find a revamped site with a cleaner design and easier access to the information they most need.

The Association has been working on refurbishing the site since last spring. After months of research and testing, the site will be ready for rollout on Labor Day.

Studies have shown that most users go to www.ncaa.org looking for information related to employment, championships, sports news, online forms and compliance information. The most frequent users of the site are staff at NCAA institutions, the general public, student-athletes, parents of future student-athletes, high-school administrators and the media.

Using that research, IBM has designed a site that will focus more on the academic side of intercollegiate athletics, and also will feature more up-to-date news and information about the Association.

After the site is launched, the old site will still be available as information is transferred from one format to the other. The site has about 50,000 pages, and it will take time for everything to shift over to the new format.

The NCAA's Web site gets more than 15 million visits a year.

Site visitors may share their comments, concerns and questions with the national office by e-mailing them to webmaster@
ncaa.org.

STAFF CONTACT: Gregg Summers (gsummers@ncaa.org)

FOOTBALL RULES

Applications for eye shields need medical documentation

The NCAA Football Rules Committee and the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS) are reminding member institutions that football student-athletes who wish to wear tinted eye shields during competition must obtain documentation from an opthamologist and/or neurologist to support the need for the eye shield and submit a formal request to the NCAA national office.

The athletic trainer or compliance coordinator for each school is responsible for making the request to the NCAA national office. The form must include documentation from an opthamologist and/or neurologist to support the student-athlete's need for a tinted shield. NCAA staff members and a physician member of the CSMAS review the applications.

Forms must be received by Tuesday the week of the contest in order for the processing to occur before a Saturday game.

For more information, see page 7.

STAFF CONTACT: Ty Halpin (thalpin@ncaa.org)