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This story is part of our CSC 360 package for September 2023, to view more stories, click here.
SAVE THE DATE — CSC Webinar: Football Statistics and Rules
This webinar will familiarize CSC members on the new college football rules and proper scoring techniques.
Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 1 PM (Eastern). Zoom link to come.
Accurate statistics are important; resources are available
compiled by Beau White – College Sports Communicators, Director of Creative Services
Statistics — and the accurate keeping of them — is one of the most foundational and important pieces of communications work. The numbers often tell the story and are meaningful to student-athletes, coaches, fans and the hundreds of millions of eyes that are on college sports. As we continue into the new sports year, take care that your staffs are trained to deliver high-quality information. Our friends from multiple divisions share messages below on resources available in 2023-24.
NCAA
Greetings from Indianapolis! Marcus Thatcher and Liz Wacienga coming to you from the NCAA office on behalf of the NCAA Media Coordination and Statistics department.
Over the summer our staff has heard from the membership that inconsistent statistics are starting to become prevalent. With more eyes on statistics now more than ever, we wanted to take this opportunity to pass along some resources about properly training your game day staff along with some helpful links that can assist you throughout the school year.
Genius NCAA LiveStats
- For sports that utilize NCAA LiveStats (football, soccer, volleyball and ice hockey), the NCAA Manager is a fantastic resource filled with training videos and a FAQ page for each sport.
- Live training webinars for fall sports have passed, but recordings of the sessions remain available online.
- Be sure to sign up for the NCAA LiveStats newsletter to receive product updates and register for upcoming webinars.
- On game day, if you incur any issues, contact NCAA LiveStats help desk at (877) 542-7282 or email NCAASupport@geniussports.com. We encourage you to CC the corresponding NCAA staff member (more on that below!) so that we are aware of the issue.
Navigating NCAA.org
- By now, you should have your fall sports schedule and rosters submitted to our database. If you haven’t done so, those instructions are available here. Winter sports are now open if you’d like to get a head start on those. (Schedule and Roster instructions)
- You can also submit your schedules through Presto and SIDEARM Sports. If you go this route, make sure you still log in to the NCAA backend to full submit the schedule.
- Before reaching out to our office, be sure to check our NCAA Media Coordination/Statistics Staff Who to Contact page to make sure you’re contacting the proper person.
- Here are some additional resources that you may need throughout the year.
If you have questions during the season, please do not hesitate to reach out to our office. We’re here to help you! Good luck this season!
NAIA
Hello from Kansas City! The NAIA National Office, similar to all levels of collegiate athletics, has seen an uptick in incorrect statistics being reported. Statistics are the backbone of how we measure our student-athletes’ success on the field of play. Awards, coach evaluations and numerous metrics are based on the general understanding that we are the experts in statistics and that no matter what the outcome, we are committed to providing the most accurate stats that we can.
It is with this thought in mind that the NAIA has prepared several resources for our members in order to understand statistics in a variety of sports. We also feature a wide variety of training materials on how to use each Presto statistics platform!
For the sports of soccer, volleyball, football, basketball, lacrosse, and baseball/softball, the NAIA has recorded webinars that walk you through the operation of each of these Presto Stats platforms.
For a variety of other resources pertinent to NAIA SIDs, make sure to head to the NAIA SIDA page on NAIA.org, including a downloadable google calendar with important dates and deadlines for 2023-24. We wish everyone a successful and healthy year!
NJCAA
As the NJCAA transitions into a new academic year, below are a few reminders and guidelines from the NJCAA National Office regarding results and statistics entry.
The NJCAA understands the importance of accurate and timely statistics in today’s environment that places an emphasis on real-time updates and availability of information. The NJCAA hopes that all member colleges share in those values and recognize the importance of investing in sports information and athletic communications professionals to help achieve those goals.
Updated NJCAA Statistics Enforcement Policy
- Effective August 1, 2023, all head-to-head sports (football, volleyball, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, lacrosse) are required to enter competition scores into the NJCAA statistics platform on PrestoSports by 11:59 p.m. local time on the day of the event. The deadline to enter statistics for all head-to-head sports will remain 2:00 PM ET each Monday for events played the previous week. The score entry timeline requirement is added to the NJCAA Statistics Enforcement Policy which can be found in the Policies Manual of the NJCAA Handbook.
Roster and Schedule Entry
- Rosters and schedules for each sport must be entered into the NJCAA PrestoSports Stats System prior to the team's first competition. This applies to all NJCAA sports.
- For more information on getting started with roster and schedule entry in PrestoSports, click HERE.
Non-Region Stat-Entry Procedure
In order to avoid the overwriting of submitted statistics, all stats for non-region contests must be entered manually using the Scoresheet Entry application – UNLESS there is a signed agreement from both teams designating one college responsible for submitting a complete box score using either live scoring or the XML upload feature.
Other Important Statistics Entry Notes
- Never delete previous entered stats.
- Please make sure that the first thing you do when the Scoresheet Entry application opens is mark your participating players.
- When using the Scoresheet Entry application, only one user can enter statistics at a time. It is equivalent to two users having the same document open at once – the last person to save will overwrite any changes made by the first to save. Please be aware of the prompts notifying you another user is in the system and try to coordinate with your opponents as much as possible.
- Anytime a player changes numbers during the season, the player’s stats must be linked to the number that is entered into the PrestoSports stats roster.
- Make sure to check the appropriate boxes on the Event Creation Page when scheduling your games.
For any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to the NJCAA Marketing & Communications department at
media@njcaa.org.
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