ACS News

ACS Athletics and the Heartland Conference Partner to Benefit Schools

 ACS Athletics and the Heartland Conference have teamed up to create a special partnership in an effort to benefit institutions in the eight-member conference. The partnership provides member institutions incentive opportunities to implement ACS InControl technology solutions that improve staff performance in the areas of recruiting, compliance monitoring and student-athlete information management.

 “We feel the Division II Conference Commissioners Association has aligned with a company that could bring great benefits to our NCAA Division II schools,” Heartland Conference commissioner Tony Stigilano said.” The Heartland Conference is looking forward to our working relationship with ACS Athletics.”

 ACS Athletics is the first company to provide technology solutions of this caliber and the only company that has integrated the ACS InControl system with campus information systems. This gives institutions that have teamed up with ACS many timesaving benefits.

 “ACS is honored to have the opportunity to help Heartland Conference institutions and support new technology initiatives on each of these campuses,” ACS President and CEO, Phillip Engle said. “We look forward to a long and productive partnership.”

 About ACS Athletics:

ACS Athletics is a web and mobile technology company that improves operational performance and reduces risk for collegiate athletic programs. Through the InControl™ software, ACS provides a structure that gives programs a competitive advantage by simplifying, integrating and automating processes.  InControl™ delivers the flexibility and security athletic administrators, coaches and campus stakeholders need to stay organized, decrease risk of non-compliance and stay focused on winning and developing relationships.  The expertise ACS possesses in athletic department process helps meet clients’ needs by enabling better communication, improving the all-around efficiency of their program and ensuring student athlete welfare.

 About the Heartland Conference

The Heartland Conference, which formed in 1999, is the newest member of the NCAA’s Division II conferences. The conference is made up of eight schools, five of which are from Texas, and one each from Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma. The current members include St. Edwards University (TX), St. Mary’s University (TX), Dallas Baptist University, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Newman University (KS), Texas A&M International University, University of Texas of the Permian Basin (TX), and the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.

 The conference sponsors 13 championships in baseball, men’s and women’s golf, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, and men’s and women’s basketball.

 Heartland Conference members claim national championships in several sports including baseball, golf, swimming, basketball, and softball, and have nationally ranked teams in all sports.

Northern Kentucky University Goes Automated – Implements ACS InControl

When Northern Kentucky University Athletics Director Scott Eaton agreed to be an ACS Athletics NCAA Division II Flagship institution at the 2011 NCAA Convention in January, he expected not only a great product, but exemplary service.  Eaton got more than he bargained for, as did the NKU athletics department, which sponsors 13 varsity sports and competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

“The NKU coaches and staff have been receiving nothing short of outstanding, excellent, superb, and fantastic customer service and treatment from ACS,” Eaton said.

In addition to receiving this type of service, NKU will automate many paper-driven and time-consuming processes in the areas of recruiting, compliance monitoring and student-athlete information management, resulting in improved in staff performance and productivity.  With ACS InControl, NKU coaches will have access to the latest in mobile technology, allowing them to recruit smarter and stay ahead of the game.

Eaton has also been impressed with the ACS staff’s ability to rally the troops and get coaches excited about using this type of technology.

“The ACS staff has taken a group of reluctant and hesitant coaches and turned them into believers and (ACS) now has them excited about the capabilities of this system,” Eaton said.

ACS Athletics is a web and mobile technology company that improves operational performance and reduces risk for collegiate athletic programs. Through the InControl™ software, ACS provides a structure that gives programs a competitive advantage by simplifying, integrating and automating processes.  InControl™ delivers the flexibility and security athletic administrators, coaches and campus stakeholders need to stay organized, decrease risk of non-compliance and stay focused on winning and developing relationships.  The expertise ACS possesses in athletic department process helps meet clients’ needs by enabling better communication, improving the all-around efficiency of their program and ensuring student athlete welfare.

 If you would like more information, please contact sales@acsathletics.com or at (512) 343-8811.

The Great Lakes Valley Conference Partners with ACS Athletics

ACS Athletics and the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) have entered into an exclusive partnership to benefit conference institutions by providing incentive opportunities for those institutions that elect to implement the ACS InControl software suite.

“The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) is pleased to enter into this agreement and to provide our 17 member institutions the opportunity to enhance their NCAA rules compliance efforts with the services and programs provided by ACS Athletics,” said Jim Naumovich, Commissioner of the GLVC. “We have noted the company’s commitment to NCAA Division II through this GLVC agreement and their sponsorship of the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (CCA) and look forward to our association with ACS Athletics.”

ACS Athletics is the first company to provide technology solutions that merge recruiting, compliance monitoring and roster management into one, integrated platform.  Further, ACS is the only company that has integrated the ACS InControl system with campus information systems, providing a unique and time-saving benefit to customers.

“ACS is honored to have the opportunity to serve GLVC institutions and support the Division II membership in this regard,” said ACS President and CEO, Phillip Engle.  “We look forward to a long and productive partnership.”

About ACS Athletics

ACS Athletics is a web and mobile technology company that improves operational performance and reduces risk for collegiate athletic programs. Through the InControl™ software, ACS provides a structure that gives programs a competitive advantage by simplifying, integrating and automating processes.  InControl™ delivers the flexibility and security athletic administrators, coaches and campus stakeholders need to stay organized, decrease risk of non-compliance and stay focused on winning and developing relationships.  The expertise ACS possesses in athletic department process helps meet clients’ needs by enabling better communication, improving the all-around efficiency of their program and ensuring student athlete welfare.

About the GLVC

Located in downtown Indianapolis, the GLVC membership includes 17 institutions:  University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Lewis University, University of Indianapolis, Northern Kentucky University, Bellarmine University, University of Southern Indiana, Drury University, Kentucky Wesleyan College,McKendree University, Rockhurst University, Maryville University, University of Missouri-St. Louis, William Jewell College, Quincy University, University of Illinois-Springfield, Saint Joseph’s College and Missouri University of Science and Technology.

The conference sponsors 17 championships in baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, indoor and outdoor track and field, and tennis for men and basketball, cross country, softball, soccer, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, golf, and volleyball for women.

GLVC institutions have won 11 national championships in basketball. Kentucky Wesleyan leads all Division II institutions with eight men’s basketball titles, while Southern Indiana won the men’s crown in 1995. Northern Kentucky’s women won the school’s first-ever basketball national championship in 2000 and followed with a national title in 2008. In addition, SIU Edwardsville became the first GLVC school to win a national championship in softball in 2007.

Lynn University Gets Cutting Edge with ACS InControl Technology

This past spring, Lynn University implemented ACS InControl^TM to better manage athletics department operations, and the Fighting Knights are already seeing results.  The ACS InControl^TM software will benefit Lynn by improving staff performance in recruiting, compliance monitoring, roster management, eligibility certification, administration of student-athlete forms, and much, much more.

 One of the driving forces behind Lynn’s purchase of this technology was to streamline the administration of student-athlete forms, a critical component in Student-Athlete Life-Cycle management.

“Lynn University experienced the initial significant impact the ACS program makes by providing a paperless option for processing student-athlete pre-participation forms,” said Lynn Director of Athletics, Kristen Migliano. “Students prefer to operate through full utilization of technology; the ACS system allows Lynn University to connect with our students to provide this service in advance of them even arriving on campus,” Migliano said.

With ACS InControl^TM Lynn will have a centralized student-athlete database that integrates with the campus information system, providing senior administrators unfettered access to critical information used to certify student-athlete eligibility and the awarding of financial aid.

In addition to automating processes that were previously paper-driven on the academic and administrative side, ACS is providing coaches with cutting-edge tools to assist in managing the recruiting process.

“ACS has helped to both streamline and organize our everyday operations,” said Lynze Roos, Head Women’s Volleyball coach. “Not only do we have access to our recruiting information at our fingertips with the mobile application, but our team and academic information is now all in the same hub.”

With a comprehensive system such as ACS InControl^TM, some might think that the implementation of such a system and the training that is involved could be challenging.  The staff at Lynn has experienced quite the opposite, however, using the experience of the ACS staff to their full advantage.

“Upon entering into a partnership with ACS, Lynn University has been completely satisfied with the level of service and availability the ACS team has provided our campus administrators,” said Migliano.  “The on-campus visit from our appointed Account Representative proved to be more than just a program orientation.  She assisted athletics administrators in bringing together coaches and university personnel with compliance-related responsibilities to showcase firsthand how the ACS program will add value to their daily processes. Whenever we have had a question arise on our campus, the ACS team has gladly provided the necessary support to ensure a successful client relationship.”

If you would like to learn more, please contact ACS Athletics at (800) 343-6220 or via email at sales@acsathletics.com.

The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletics Association Inks Deal with ACS Athletics

ACS Athletics and the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (WVIAC) have formed an exclusive partnership to benefit conference institutions by providing incentive opportunities for those institutions that elect to implement the ACS InControl software suite.

“I was very impressed with the product that ACS offers and especially noted the applications that will link existing campus computer data bases to athletics data bases to avoid the process of “double entry” for athletics compliance reporting and monitoring,” noted Barry Blizzard, Commissioner of the WVIAC.

ACS Athletics is the first and only company to provide integration services of this nature, providing significant benefit to those athletics departments that regularly interact with institutional admissions offices, financial aid and the registrar.

“ACS could not be more excited to partner with the WVIAC and continue our support of NCAA Division II at the conference level,” said ACS President and CEO, Phillip Engle.  “With Commissioner Blizzard’s outstanding leadership, we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.”

About ACS Athletics

ACS Athletics is a web and mobile technology company that improves operational performance and reduces risk for collegiate athletic programs. Through the InControl™ software, ACS provides a structure that gives programs a competitive advantage by simplifying, integrating and automating processes.  InControl™ delivers the flexibility and security athletic administrators, coaches and campus stakeholders need to stay organized, decrease risk of non-compliance and stay focused on winning and developing relationships.  The expertise ACS possesses in athletic department process helps meet clients’ needs by enabling better communication, improving the all-around efficiency of their program and ensuring student athlete welfare.

About the WVIAC

Founded in 1924, the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) rates as one of the oldest leagues at the small-college level.  The league’s 15 member schools include: Alderson- Broaddus College, Bluefield State College, University of Charleston, Concord University, Davis & Elkins College, Fairmont State University, Glenville State College, Ohio Valley University, Shepherd University, West Liberty University, West Virginia State University, West Virginia Wesleyan College and Wheeling Jesuit University. The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown and Seton Hill University joined the WVIAC for the 2006-07 season. Pitt Johnstown and Seton Hill are the WVIAC’s first out-of-state members since 1932.  Women’s sports were incorporated into the WVIAC during the 1981-82 academic year as the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association was absorbed. Currently, women’s championships are offered in softball, golf, tennis, track, basketball, volleyball, cross country and soccer.  Men’s championships are conducted in football, cross country, soccer, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis and track.  The league was recognized by the State Journal as one of “55 Great Things About West Virginia” in the magazine’s April 2007 edition. The WVIAC is headquartered in Princeton, W.Va.