ACS News

Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi Partners with ACS Athletics

Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi has selected ACS Athletics InControl^TM software as a student-athlete life-cycle management solution.  With InControl^TM, TAMUCC has taken a holistic approach to solving many of the day to day challenges associated with recruiting, compliance monitoring, roster management, student-athlete forms, playing and practice season hourly logs, complimentary admissions, equipment inventory management and much, much more.  In taking a department-wide approach, TAMUCC coaches and administrative staff will realize benefits on a broad scale, eliminating many of the paper-driven processes and condensing prospect and student-athlete information into one integrated system.

“After evaluating several potential technology solutions for TAMUCC, ACS Athletics offered the most comprehensive system available,” says Scott Lazenby, Associate Athletics Director for Compliance.  “We were also impressed by the depth of experience ACS possessed, having worked with some of the top programs in the country. The value associated with the ACS system is simply unmatched.”

TAMUCC has joined a growing list of institutions that are electing to solve challenges on a broader scale, noting the department-wide benefits of using a single software platform to manage the student-athlete life-cycle.  With InControl^TM, TAMUCC will retain an electronic record of every activity associated with each student-athlete from the time he or she completes an online questionnaire as a prospect, until graduation and beyond.  Not only will coaches and staff members have access to review this information as needed and in real time, but it will be accessible to generate reports and identify historical trends.  In addition, ACS InControl^TM will allow TAMUCC to meet or exceed industry standards in monitoring recruiting, playing and practice season logs, complimentary admissions and more.  Further, the equipment inventory management system will allow TAMUCC to have greater control over equipment ordering and distribution, resulting in significant costs savings.

“Speaking from a compliance perspective,” says Lazenby, “by choosing the InControl product suite, our two person compliance operation expanded to a four person operation without actually adding staff.  We were able to expand our compliance systems two-fold and increase effectiveness without increasing our workload.  On a broader scale, we feel InControl will produce similar results with all sport programs and other administrative areas.”

If your institution is interested in taking the next step and implementing a technology solution that will allow your program to move forward, please contact ACS Athletics at (512) 343-8811 or via email at sales@acsathletics.com.

Centralizing Recruiting and Student-Athlete Information Benefits Both the Compliance Staff and Coaches

When the University of Oklahoma decided to implement a department-wide technological solution for recruiting, compliance monitoring and student-athlete information, the intent was to integrate and automate much of the day-to-day compliance procedures.  After extensive research, Jason Leonard, Oklahoma’s Executive Athletics Director for Compliance, recommended ACS Athletics to the Athletics Director and the General Counsel.

“Based on the benefits of the software, specifically, reduction in time to complete the numerous forms that are required throughout the year, centralization of all student-athlete information, improved tracking of recruiting information, and improved ability to monitor, the proposal was ultimately approved by the Board of Regents,” Leonard said.  When asked what features of the ACS Athletics program were most attractive, Leonard noted the ability to centralize student-athlete information and forms, the capability to electronically route department forms for approval and/or signatures, and the ability to maintain the complimentary ticket database in a centralized location.

Once implemented, Leonard indicated that the ACS Athletics program enables the institution to monitor recruiting activity in a timelier manner and allows his staff to track recruiting telephone calls more accurately.  Further, Leonard said the program provides coaches the ability to easily log comments about each recruiting call (e.g., prospect did not answer the call, no message left); and it provides an online central area for all recruiting activities (e.g., phone calls, contacts, evaluations, official visits), thus eliminating the need to physically go to the coaching staffs each month to collect this information.

In addition to providing coaches with powerful recruiting software that streamlines the recruiting process, Leonard also envisioned creating a central location for all student-athlete information.  This information is collected from a variety of sources beginning with the student-athlete’s recruitment through graduation; otherwise known as the, “student-athlete life-cycle.”  Leonard said the compliance staff now has the ability to “push” the requested information to the student-athletes via electronic forms, which has greatly improved the efficiency of the process.  “The reporting function has vastly improved our ability to review and analyze the information gathered.  For example, instead of reviewing each vehicle form individually, we can isolate certain information within the form and run reports based on that information for all student-athletes,” Leonard said.

Finally, Leonard indicated that coaches have generally reacted positively to the implementation of the ACS Athletics program, which can sometimes prove to be challenging if certain coaches are accustomed to operating within a different paradigm.  In addition to the time saved from previously having to manually log all recruiting activities, coaches appreciate not having to maintain paper recruiting logs.  “Coaches have to understand the importance of compliance in their day to day activities,” Leonard said. “If a coach understands how important compliance is and how the coach will be the one in front of the COI (NCAA Committee on Infractions) if something negative occurs, the sale (of implementing a comprehensive technological solution, including monitoring) should be easy. Further, centralization of student-athlete information for the coach’s team, which can be accessed by all pertinent individuals in the front office from any location at any time, is a positive. The text message and e-mail features are also beneficial.”

Florida State University saves time and money with ACS Athletics Equipment Management Software

“In the day and age of audits and budget cuts, I cannot imagine doing my job without ACS Equipment Manager.   It makes me more efficient, saves me time, and saves my university money.” -Dane Smith, FSU Equipment Manager

When Florida State University renewed its apparel contract five years ago, equipment manager Dane Smith decided it was time to explore potential solutions to managing the inventory and distribution of equipment and apparel.  During this process, colleagues recommended Smith consider ACS Athletics Equipment Management software, a technology solution designed specifically for equipment room operations.  Smith and the rest of the FSU equipment management staff liked what they saw, and thus began a partnership that continues to be successful to this day.

Smith indicated that prior to implementing the ACS Equipment Management software, he and his staff would spend countless hours during the day and into the evening entering equipment distribution information into Excel spreadsheets.  With ACS, distributions are recorded electronically, eliminating the need to manually record each transaction.  Smith also indicated the ACS software makes the ordering process much more efficient.  “The size chart report saves time and allows us to place much more accurate orders, helping to eliminate over-ordering,” says Smith.  It is this over-ordering that costs athletics department thousands of dollars each year.  Further, undistributed equipment often goes unused, is given away or even discarded entirely.  A routine audit will reveal these oversights and someone will ultimately have to be held accountable.

In addition to operating more efficiently, Smith indicated the flexibility of the system is critical to the success of the entire equipment operations staff.  “Between the ability to generate custom-reporting for us based on our needs as a department and each equipment manager’s ability to customize the program to meet individual needs, the system is one-of-a-kind and easy to use,” Smith said.  “In the day and age of audits and budget cuts, I cannot imagine doing my job without ACS Equipment Manager.   It makes me more efficient, saves me time, and saves my university money.”

If you would like more information on ACS Athletics and the Equipment Management software, please call (800) 343-6220 or contact us by email at sales@acsathletics.com.

Auburn Football Launches Trailblazing Website

The language, interests and information consumption needs of today’s college football fans have a technological twang that could leave all but the most tech savvy programs a step behind. Auburn University Football now can say it speaks the language and delivers on what the fans are looking for regarding interactive content. On March 16, AU Football launched a new Web site that features a panoramic tour of Auburn traditions, coaching bios, NFL standouts, video highlights and more.

“For many of our audiences, particularly our hardcore fans, this is a new interactive door to what makes Auburn Football so special,” says Scott Fountain, Football Operations Coordinator at Auburn. “We believe fans are craving a Web site that broadcasts what AU Football is all about. It was important for us to find a partner that could deliver something that was unique and different than the typical football sites out there.”

The new site (www.auburnwareagle.com), designed by Austin, Texas based ACS Athletics, is a trailblazing visual and interactive microsite, devoted to Auburn Football’s people, traditions and accomplishments. This product is the result of months of synchronized hard work between ACS and Auburn athletics. The cornerstone of the new site, the panoramic home page, features 7 chapters with interactive hotspots that offer video and content about Auburn Football.

“We take an innovative, holistic approach to helping our customers meet information management, communications and marketing support needs,” says Rayan Rutledge, V.P. of Business Development, ACS Athletics. “Our ACS Interactive Services are helping valued customers establish their brand while differentiating themselves from their competition. We’re committed to delivering only the best marketing support, student-athlete and recruiting management solutions available.”

After months of planning, design, and development, Auburn Football’s Web presence has vaulted into a new era. The success of the project can be tied to the hands on approach and project management efforts of the ACS Interactive team. “ACS listened to our needs and guided our staff through the process with great results,” says Fountain. “I believe the quality of the work they produce speaks for itself.”

“We have a great deal of fun getting in the trenches with our customers and learning about their needs and goals,” says Rutledge. “Project management, conceptual design and IT support for each microsite is all handled and managed internally via ACS. Relationships are important to us. We’re proud to be working with Auburn football on the web site project, as well as on other fronts.”

“ACS has done a great job in helping our staff on the recruiting front,” says Gene Chizik, Head Football Coach at Auburn. “We are more effective and efficient as coaches because of the solutions and support they offer. We are especially excited about the unique approach they’ve taken with marketing to set us apart from our competition. ACS has been great partner to Auburn football.”