Welcome Aboard

It was 1995 and my first year at Hardin-Simmons University. As we were reviewing the role of Sports Information in the Athletic Department, someone mentioned that we might look at having an athletic web site. At this time, I did not own a home computer and I was unsure if devoting time to something called the internet was worth the effort. We put a student worker, Drew Altom, in charge of updating the athletic web site once a week, which is about how many times I would check my e-mail. On my lunch hour, I would jog around Shelton Stadium listening to Tom Petty on my no-skip cd player.

It is now 2008 and I can get e-mail on my telephone, I now listen to Tom Petty on an I-Pod, and if our website were only updated once a week, instead of running around Shelton Stadium, I would be worried about my boss running me out of town. There are numerous days when our athletic web site receives hundreds if not thousands of hits as people want to read about the latest news on our student-athletes. It consistently amazes me how many people from all over the world will follow our athletic program through the website. I believe that our website helps us with the two R’s of campus life, recruiting and retention. The website helps tremendously with recruiting potential students as the website many times will provide the first impression of our campus. And it helps with the retention of our current student-athletes as they appreciate the recognition that the website provides. On the positive side, we have had people compare our website to a Division One athletic website. On the negative side, we have had people ask why our website does not have the features that a professional sports team website does. I answer that question with the response that a professional sports team will likely spend the equivalent of our entire athletic department budget on their website.

And now we mark a new chapter in our website history as we have joined with Presto Sports to help us with our internet content. Chad Grubbs, our Sports Information Director, has worked with this company to provide us with a new look and some features that were not available in the past. We will continue to offer many of the services that you have come to expect from the website, and as in the past we will make every effort to update the website as quickly as possible. We look forward to hearing your comments on the new website, as we value your opinion. And if you are in the market for a no-skip cd player, I can cut you a great deal.

Cowboy Up,

JN

For the HSU Athletic's Web site Please Click Here.
For the HSU Web site Please Click Here.