Through the years, the staff of The NCAA News fondly has recalled and occasionally reprinted words written by the publication’s first editor, Wiles Hallock, in the very first issue in March 1964:

"(The) NCAA News is brand-spankin' new, a brain-child so to speak, which, it is hoped will mature and, like all children, learn gradually its capabilities and limitations."

If it's reasonable to think of a newspaper as a living being -- and it sometimes has seemed to its editors and writers like a unruly sibling and at other times like their dearest friend -- then this month brings a passage by the News into a new phase in life.

To echo Hallock's words, the News has matured, survived its limitations, and now is eagerly exploring new capabilities.

Beginning in January, the News changes formats, converting from a printed biweekly newspaper -- which rolls off presses in Indianapolis and into its readers’ hands for the last time with this issue -- into a daily online format. The shift from print to online coincides with an increased commitment by the News staff to provide information to the membership and public more expediently.

That first issue of the News also attempted to describe its purpose via a staff-written column elsewhere in the publication (which, it's worth noting, included only five scattered mugshot photos and a graphic about schools’ sports facilities as design elements in its six pages).

Today, the words written then probably would be described as a "mission statement," but then, it was just an attempt to explain why a 58-year-old organization believed it needed a membership publication:

"Improved communication involves a number of things. It can mean more efficient distribution of information and it can mean telling the whys and wherefores of actions taken or positions assumed. It can mean preparation of its readership for future actions and reactions.

"Therefore, The NCAA News will be informational to some extent. It is basically intended to do more — to explain programs and points of view. It will attempt to create interest in NCAA affairs and achieve continuity which will hold that interest."

As things have turned out, those words serve well to explain why the News is moving online.
About two years ago, the staff began evaluating whether the News continued to "improve communication," and after a few months of study, concluded it could achieve “more efficient distribution of information.”

The News, which typically has ranged in size from 24 to 32 pages in recent years, developed a content mix that included news about the Association as well as commentary from the membership and feature stories exploring current issues.

It also has attempted to display its contents attractively, employing high-quality photography, charts and graphs, and readable typefaces. (It continued to use mugshots through its entire era in print, but recent years saw those portraits nearly always published in color.)

However, the News had one pretty noticeable shortcoming during all those years: Lots of things happened between issues, and the staff often found itself waiting for the next press run to report on such occurrences as the Association's annual Convention and dozens of NCAA championships — sometimes days or even a couple of weeks after national or local media offered their own perspective on such events.

The advent of the Internet during the 1990s helped to shorten the gap, as the News staff began posting brief items on the NCAA’s fledgling Web site, but most of the staff’s efforts continued to be directed toward the printed product. The staff, remaining mindful of its mission to “do more” than merely be informative, also regularly began exploring issues through longer articles — eventually creating packages of features in its Centerpiece section (which also appears for the last time in this issue of the News, featuring an exploration of factors impacting current discussions about restructuring the Association).

Ultimately, timeliness emerged as the News staff’s top priority — though the possibilities of printed communication still will be honored for the foreseeable future.

In addition to the more contemporary online delivery of News content, the staff is introducing a new printed publication next month -- Champion magazine. The first edition of the quarterly magazine -- which promises much of the same type of issues coverage that has been a hallmark of the News in recent years but also introduces a new format that celebrates the NCAA's student-athletes and membership - will be available to delegates at the 2008 Convention and also will be mailed to current recipients of the News.

Champion is designed to put more emphasis on telling the NCAA story, and in doing so also honors the mission set forth in 1964 to "create interest in NCAA affairs and achieve continuity which will hold that interest."”

Meanwhile, the online version of the News will continue to cover developments deriving from the Association’s governance structure and related topics -- often just hours or even minutes after the meetings and discussions through which the NCAA conducts its business.

The online News also will debut with an new design that not only features the happenings of the day, but also offers access to such "new media" as photo galleries, audio and video interviews, and exclusive podcasts.

Users also can receive daily and weekly updates through a new e-mailed product known as NCAA News Direct, which will provide registered members with summaries of and links to new online content. Registration for NCAA News Direct began December 17 at www.NCAA.org, and the first daily edition will be sent to subscribers January 7. The first weekly edition of NCAA News Direct will be sent January 11.

For those who have relied on the News to advertise or learn about job openings on campuses, that function also lives on. The News already has launched an upgraded online career resource center that will significantly enhance what already is regarded as the leading job-posting site within intercollegiate athletics.

Those enhancements include resumé posting, a resumé search function, greater flexibility for employers to manage job postings (including the ability to renew or discontinue ads), and activity reports (showing, for example, the number of individuals who have viewed a job and applied online, or how many times a posting was forwarded via e-mail).

In his editorial appearing on page 4 of this issue, current Editor-in-Chief David Pickle (who has been involved with the publication through 21 of its 44 years) echoes the past by offering his own take on the mission of the News:

" 'All of the changes are faithful to the NCAA strategic plan, which includes these relevant objectives:
" 'Increase the timeliness, clarity, conciseness and effectiveness of membership communication.’
" 'Increase use of technology to improve the effectiveness and efficiencies of Association processes.’
" 'Increase the public’s confidence in the Association as a whole.'"

Pickle also solicits feedback from the membership to help improve the staff’s efforts, and in doing so continues a tradition that has remained important for editors of the News through all of its changes of format over time.

In fact, the first issue of the News addressed the membership as follows in 1964 — and the words remain valid today:

"How these objectives may be achieved must await your reaction to the way it is attempted. This first issue is a beginning. What you have to say about it will determine its future growth and course."

Happily for its staff, this last edition of the printed version of The NCAA News is a beginning, too.