Section 6 - Internet


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Official NCAA Web site.

In the interest of protecting the integrity of NCAA championships, the NCAA has established guidelines pertaining to Web site management for host institutions, conferences and sponsoring agencies that will administer NCAA championship competition, media organizations covering the championship competition, as well as any other use of NCAA championship reporting on the Internet.

The NCAA has granted exclusive Internet rights to CBS Sports through an 11-year bundled rights agreement.  The term of this agreement extends from September 1, 2002, through August 31, 2013.  These rights cover all rounds of all 88 championships administrated by the NCAA national office.  The rights include the production of the official Web site for all NCAA sports, which is www.NCAAsports.com.  In addition, the rights cover all Internet representation of the NCAA championship events including live stats, live audio, live video, post-event footage use and online sales.

CBS has named SportsLine.com as the official producer of NCAAsports.com.  SportsLine staffs and administrates all content on the Web site.  Staff members who contact host institutions regarding content on NCAAsports.com are speaking on behalf of the NCAA national office as it pertains to requests for support.  The NCAA works in conjunction with the SportsLine.com staff responsible for NCAAsports.com in supplying contact information, as well as overall direction in producing the Web site.

In some cases, ESPN shares exclusive Internet rights with CBS.  The shared exclusivity applies for the 21 championship events for which ESPN has acquired television broadcast rights.

In addition to the production of NCAAsports.com, the NCAA manages the rights governed by polices referenced herein.  These rights cover NCAA content that may appear on Internet sites other than the official site.  All content that falls under the following policies are subject to NCAA approval.  Contact the NCAA broadcasting staff with the information contained in this document when seeking approval.

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Host Institution Web site.

The NCAA provides the opportunity for entities hosting an NCAA championship event to produce a specialized Web site specific to the championship.  This Web site is intended to support the official site and serve as a secondary, local information resource aimed at the local public.  The NCAA has established guidelines pertaining to Web site management for host institutions, conferences and sponsoring agencies that will administer NCAA championship competition and design these sites.  

The General Guidelines for administration of an NCAA championship Web site include:

1. The host institution shall submit a written proposal, including any financial arrangements, to the NCAA championship staff liaison prior to the Web site going online.  Approval by the NCAA broadcasting staff is required for site content and overall design.  The Web site may not be promoted or hyper linked from the institutions main page until the NCAA broadcasting staff signs off on the approval. 
2. Any advertising located on Web sites containing NCAA trademarks or the NCAA championship logos must meet NCAA corporate champion/partner and local corporate involvement policies and guidelines.  Because local businesses or entities other than NCAA corporate champions/partners may not use NCAA trademarks, any advertising or identification at the Web site (except NCAA corporate champions/partners) shall be separate from the page containing NCAA trademarks or logos.  As a permissible example, a local organizing committee may have a Link on the site contents menu containing logos, which might say "ABC City Local Organizing Committee Sponsors," which then would cause someone to click to the page of local advertisers.  However, the names of the local sponsors themselves would not be located on the Web page with NCAA trademarks or logos.
3. The NCAA primary mark must be displayed more prominently than any other logo and must precede or be placed above any other identification marks.  Permissible placement for Web site manager/creator identification or advertisement shall be limited to the bottom inch of the page, or as determined by the NCAA championship administrator in accordance with current NCAA guidelines.  (NCAA Visual and Logo Guidelines).
4. The institution or Web site provider may not register a separate domain name for the site that contains an NCAA trademark.  Rather, the Web site must be part of the member institution, conference, LOC or host city's Web site. For example, www.stlouis.org/finalfour is permissible. On the other hand, www.finalfourstlouis.com is not. 
5. The host institution shall provide a permanent link to www.ncaasports.com, the official NCAA championships site.  This link must be referenced with the official logo of NCAAsports.com.  Contact the NCAA championship administrator or a member of the NCAA broadcasting staff to obtain the logo.
6. The site may not contain live video or audio coverage of the championship games.  The NCAA will consider requests for highlight coverage of championship games.  The site may not contain real-time statistical, play-by-play, or other broadcast coverage of championship games unless otherwise noted by the NCAA broadcasting staff. The site content, in general, must not be competitive with the official NCAA Web site, NCAAsports.com.
7. The host institution must remove the Web site no later than six months after the conclusion of the championship(s), unless the host institution is hosting consecutive championships for that sport.

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Promotion Guidelines. 

1. The official NCAA championship site (www.NCAAsports.com) must be the only URL associated with the championship in promotional materials when only one reference to a Web site exists.  Promotional materials include handbills, billboards, newspaper ads, etc.                                
2. The NCAAsports.com logo should be used whenever possible.  Contact your NCAA championships administrator to obtain a copy of the logo.                                
3. In the event that two Web site references can be made in the same promotion, the second URL may promote the local site. The second reference must be equal to or smaller than the NCAAsports.com reference, in size.                                
4. When promoting ticket information, volunteer availability, local attractions, etc., it is advised to contact Jeramy Michiaels (see below) at the NCAA so that direct links to these sections can be created on NCAAsports.com for ease of navigation.  

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Suggested Information on and direct Internet links for host institution sponsored championship Web sites are as follows:

Introductory page.  Identify general championship information including dates, location, facility, host institution or sponsoring agency and provide site contents menu for other information and Links.

Championship information.

• Schedule of events, including peripheral activities, (welcome centers, fan zones, NCAA Hoop Cities), game times, practice times (if open to the public) and television coverage.                               
• Banquet information (if open to the public).                               
• Ticket information and application.                               
• Volunteer interest form.                               
• YES Clinic information.  Yes Clinics                             
• Facility Information.                               
• Link to facility Web site (if available).                               
• Driving directions.                               
• Handicapped information.                               
• Important telephone numbers.                               
• Lodging information.                               
• Link to local reservation assistance Web sites or a local lodging guide.                               
• Link to local convention and visitor's bureau.                               
• Link to Short's travel packages (www.shortstravel.com).                               
• Information on availability of rooms at team and headquarter properties.                               
• Link to local dining guides and local convention and visitor's bureau.

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Institutional key contacts.   Host institution contact names for local fans and businesses interested in supporting the event.

Required link.  Link to NCAAsports.com through use of official NCAAsports.com logo.   http://ncaasports.com

Suggested links.

• Link to host institution, conference and/or sponsoring agency that will administer NCAA championship competition.                               
• Link to local convention and visitor's bureau.                               
• Link to www.shortstravel.com.                               
• Link to coaches' associations and other non-commercial Web sites.                               
• Link to future championship host Web sites, for the specific sport.                               
• Link to the overall NCAA championships dates and sites information.                               
• Link to historical championship results for the specific sport.

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Reciprocal links.  It would be beneficial to have a link to the championship Web site from the following external Internet sites:                   

• Host institutions' athletics department.                               
• Host facility's site.                               
• Local convention and visitor's bureau.                               
• Any event calendars for city, state, or university.                               
• An acceptance form must be completed by the host institution and Web site manager prior to the creation of an unofficial championship Web site.  Contact your NCAA championships staff liaison or Jeramy Michiaels for more information.

Contact Information:
Jeramy Michiaels, Manager of Broadcasting, NCAA
PO Box 6222
Indianapolis, IN 46206
317/917-6523
jmichiaels@ncaa.org 

Durenka Robie
Coordinator, Corporate Broadcast and Alliances, NCAA
PO Box 6222
Indianapolis, IN 46206
317/917-6825
drobie@ncaa.org

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Internet Live Statistics.

The NCAA reserves the right to deny any entity from producing live statistics for NCAA championship play.  In the event the NCAA takes on the responsibility of producing a live statistical representation from an NCAA championship event, no other entity will be permitted to do so.  Live statistics are considered a protected right that has been granted to CBS as part of a bundled rights agreement, referenced above.  For clarification purposes, a live statistical representation includes play-by-play, score updates, shot charts, updated box scores, photos with captions, etc.

In the event the NCAA, through CBS, does not produce live statistics for a specific championship, the host institution is given priority to produce exclusive live statistics. The host institution will be given the same exclusivities the NCAA would reserve for CBS in such an instance.

Once it is determined that neither the NCAA, nor the host institution, plan to exercise their exclusive rights, the ability to produce live statistics - on a non-exclusive basis - will be granted to each participating school. The definition of a participating school constitutes a school playing in the same event at a specific site.  

In each case, no commercial advertising is permitted within the live statistics window.  Any questions pertaining to live statistics should be sent to Jeramy Michiaels, NCAA Manager of Broadcasting (jmichiaels@ncaa.org).

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Internet Audio Streaming.

In accordance with the NCAA's bundled rights agreement between the two parties, CBS owns the exclusive audio streaming rights to all 88 NCAA championships. If CBS exercises its right to broadcast an NCAA championship event via Internet audio streaming, then each official university or college Internet site will not be permitted to broadcast a separate signal. These broadcasts must be cleared through Host Communications, Inc., (Mike Dodson - mike.dodson@hostcommunications.com or 859/226-4390; Cindy Johnson - cindy.johnson@hostcommunications.com or 859/226-4225) in order to obtain the broadcast rights.  The form (Radio / Internet Policy) that must be completed can be found online at www.ncaasports.com/broadcast.

Note:  A separate form will need to be completed for each round or day of coverage.

1. A rights fee may be charged for commercial broadcasts and rebroadcasts of any NCAA championship round/game(s).  The rights fee will be waived for non-commercial, university funded, student-run radio broadcasts.                                       
2. No exclusive rights shall be granted and no broadcast will be permitted as part of a subscription package. The broadcast must be free to any user. If the broadcaster normally uses a subscription package to broadcast audio or video streams, the link to the broadcast must be separate from this package in that it does not require any login or other user information.                                        
3. Aggregation of links is strictly prohibited.  The participating school may only reference the link to the game in which it is competing.  No third party site will be permitted to link to the broadcast.  The only permissible Website that will aggregate links to the entire tournament is the official NCAA site, NCAAsports.com.  Furthermore, the responsibility of ensuring no aggregation takes place resides with the school or entity requesting the rights.  In the event that aggregation is taking place on an unauthorized third-party Web site, the requesting agency must take action to have the links removed in order to prevent forfeiture of their previously granted rights to broadcast.                                        
4. The university or college broadcaster of each competing institution, or the broadcaster designated by that institution as its official broadcaster, shall be granted broadcast space.  Applications from other stations will be referred to the on-site media coordinator/host sports information director and space will be made available as the facilities permit.  The NCAA reserves the right to deny any broadcaster the right to broadcast NCAA championship events.                                       
5. All broadcasts for any round/game of an NCAA championship shall be required to submit a completed streaming agreement to Mike Dodson/ Cindy Johnson at HOST.  The form (Radio / Internet Policy) may be located at www.ncaasports.com/broadcast.  You MUST submit the I.P. address of the audio player when applying for rights.  The agreement must be fully completed and submitted in advance of the round/game that will be broadcast. Please note, if the form is not fully completed, rights will not be granted.  The form shall be completed for each round/game that is to be broadcast.  HOST will authorize the form and submit it to the on-site media coordinator/host sports information director. Facilities may not be reserved until the media coordinator/host sports information director has received an authorized radio agreement from HOST. On-site personnel from the broadcaster also should retain a signed copy of the streaming agreement for reference.                                       
6. All broadcasters will be invoiced for rights fees associated with these broadcasts. Broadcasters will be charged for each game of the championship in which it broadcasts.
   
   Note: The station streaming the broadcast is required to supply a link back to the official NCAA Championships Web site, NCAAsports.com.  The per game Internet rights fees are as follows:
   
   

   Division I championships (excluding men's and women's basketball)   
   Internet streaming fee - $75.00   Commercial Internet-only fee - $75.00

   * Division I Men's Basketball Championship   
   Internet streaming fee - $100.00   Commercial Internet-only fee - $100.00

   * Division I Women's Basketball Championship   
   Internet Streaming fee - $75.00   Commercial Internet-only fee - $75.00

   * This information should be forwarded to your broadcaster.  Originating university networks will receive a different NCAA Radio Agreement for the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championships.

   Division II and III championships   
   Internet streaming fee - $50.00   Commercial Internet-only fee - $50.00

   Note: A rights fee will be waived for any non-commercial, university funded, student-run broadcast.

   The rights fee will be waived for Internet-only broadcast provided there are no commercials, sponsored elements or underwriting spots within the broadcast itself. In addition, there cannot be any advertising on the audio player itself. Any of the afore mentioned circumstances will result in a rights fee for an Internet-only broadcast.

   At the conclusion of each championship HOST will invoice rights fees, except for the Division I Men's and Women's Basketball Championship. All rights fees will be collected in advance for those events.
   
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7. A participating or host institution shall make no additional charge or receive any additional consideration for the rights accorded hereunder to the broadcaster(s) or network.

8. Refer to NCAA advertising guidelines for policies regarding appropriate and inappropriate advertising within the broadcast and within the media player. 

9. Any station that does not broadcast a game of a championship, after contract for such space, shall be required to pay a forfeiture fee of 50 percent of the initial rights fee for that particular championship.

10. The commercial format used by broadcasters shall conform to acceptable broadcast standards to ensure a quality broadcast.

11. Only a broadcaster/network that has purchased rights from the NCAA may air a live description of any competition.  Non-rights holders originating live reports from an NCAA championship venue must adhere to the following guidelines when Westwood One is broadcasting the NCAA Championship event.
    
    Live description of any game in progress is prohibited. Programming shall originate only from the media workroom, and use of NCAA courtesy telephones is prohibited. Radio station or networks may order telephones from the NCAA telecommunications contact center.  
    
    Live programming may not originate from inside the arena on game days from the beginning of the contest at the site each day until the end of the last game at the site each day.  
    
    Agencies that do not own play-by-play rights but are affiliates of Westwood One or a participating institution's network may generate live programming (e.g., news reports, call-in show participation) for a maximum of ten minutes per hour at times other than the period described above.  
    
    Agencies that are not affiliates of Westwood One or the schools' networks may generate live programming for a maximum of one minute per hour at times other than the period described in above. 

12. This policy only applies to the current championship season and is subsequent to change on a seasonal basis.

13. If you have any questions regarding this policy, please contact Jeramy Michiaels at the NCAA national office (phone: 317/917-6523 or e-mail: jmichiaels@ncaa.org), or Mike Dodson at HOST (phone: 859/226-4390 or e-mail: mike.dodson@hostcommunications.com), or Cindy Johnson at HOST (phone: 859/226-4225 or e-mail: cindy.johnson@hostcommunications.com). 

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Internet Video Streaming.  

The NCAA maintains exclusive rights to broadcast all rounds of NCAA championship competition.  An Internet video broadcast that is produced for a NCAA championship event must be run through the official NCAA Web site, NCAAsports.com.  All host institutions of an NCAA championship event with the ability to produce Internet live video will be asked to produce a live Internet video stream for NCAAsports.com.  The broadband video will run in the NCAA?s branded video player and will be free of charge.  Links will be provided for all participating institutions to the video player from their school Web sites.  No other Internet broadcast rights will be granted.   

The NCAA broadcast staff will coordinate with the host institution on the specifications needed to feed the video stream to NCAAsports.com.  All questions should be directed to NCAA Assistant Director of Broadcasting, Jeramy Michiaels (jmichiaels@ncaa.org), to establish this feed.

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Online Merchandise Sales.   

The NCAA entered into a long-term agreement with CBS Sports to administer various rights belonging to the NCAA.  CBS SportsLine.com is the producer of the official NCAA online store, located on NCAAsports.com. Only licensed merchandise may be sold through any online retailer.

The Collegiate Licensing Company ("CLC") is an agent of CBS Sports and works with it on the daily administration of the domestic licensing program.

The NCAA licensing program consists of a limited number of companies that are committed to producing quality products with NCAA registered trademarks and registered trademarks of member institutions that compete in NCAA Championships.

The Collegiate Licensing Company is the licensing representative for the NCAA.  CLC is responsible for administering the licensing program, including processing applications, collecting royalties, enforcing trademarks and pursuing new market opportunities for the NCAA.

Anyone wishing to use the marks, logos and symbols of the NCAA must obtain a license.   Frequently Asked Questions

All rights to the identifying marks and symbols of the NCAA are reserved.  No one may reproduce or copy them except with the permission of the NCAA and never to endorse either directly or indirectly a product, service or commercial venture without a written license.

All products must be approved by the NCAA and the Collegiate Licensing Company. Failure to obtain a license or approval from the NCAA and CLC would be grounds for the seizure of all non-approved merchandise bearing the NCAA's marks.

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Championships Results Reporting.

The host sports information director, media coordinator or designee is responsible for reporting official championship results to the Association's Web site, www.ncaasports.com.  Immediately following the conclusion of each championship contest or session, please forward information that specifies the division, sport, round, date, official results and provide a brief game/event summary with photos (if available).

The following method should be used to report results to NCAAsports.com for immediate posting:

Institutions should send all information in the following manner:

• E-mail the information to updates@ncaasports.com.                                        
• Specify the division, sport, round and region in the subject area.                                        
• Paste the text (official results, including date of competition, round, etc.) directly into the message box.                                        
• Send the MS Word document or Windows Notepad text document as an attachment.                                        
• Please convert photos to JPEG format and attach to e-mail.                                        
• Include official box score or event results in HTML format or in an MS Word document.

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Press Conferences and Highlight Usage.

For selected championships, the NCAA or its designate will provide an audio and video distribution center in the media interview room or in close proximity to the broadcast partner production truck.  Internet entities may access and record game highlights.  No game highlights may be aired under any circumstances until after live coverage of the championship has concluded. Unless otherwise approved by the NCAA, the video footage may not exceed three minutes in length and may be aired only on a Web site devoted exclusively to general news and/or sports news within 24 hours after completion of the event.  The audio highlights may not exceed one minute in length and may be aired only on a Web site devoted exclusively to general and /or sports news within 24 hours after completion of the event. Any footage or audio material used above the three-minute news limit or past the 24-hour restriction may only be done with NCAA prior approval. All use must include a graphic footage courtesy, "NCAA." Audio highlights must state, "brought to you by the NCAA."

Any use of live press conference footage must be cleared through the NCAA in advance of the broadcast. Permission to broadcast clips of press conferences will be handled on a case-by-case basis. 

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Web site Credential Guidelines. 

One credential may be issued to an online agency that (1) registers at least 500,000 unique users per month in each of the 12 months before the tournament and (2) covers college athletics daily.

1. One credential may be issued to an online agency that does not meet Criteria No. 1 if it covers (i.e., full-time staff members filed reports) at least 90 percent of the participating or host institution's home contests.                                        
2. The official Web site of a competing institution, as approved by that school's sports information department, may receive a maximum of two credentials in addition to the two credentials noted under Print Media.                                        
3. A print, radio or television agency will not receive more credentials than the normal limit for their online entity.  An agency may allot one (or more) of its credentials to its online entity.                                        
4. An online entity may receive a credential only if its own full-time staff writes an overwhelming percentage of that site's material.                                        
5. Online entities will not receive photography credentials.                                        
6. Any online service that is recognized as an outlet intended primarily for the purpose of delivering news related to the recruitment of student-athletes will not qualify for credentials.                                        
7. All online entities must comply with the established Internet policies of the NCAA as set forth in this document.
   

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page contact: drobie@ncaa.org
© 2005 The National Collegiate Athletic Association