The Johnsonian

Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: Sports

Basketball games are going to look a little different this year in the Winthrop Coliseum. Not only has a new court been installed, but a new scoreboard has also been installed. According to Athletic Director Tom Hickman, President DiGiorgio approved of the new scoreboard last spring. It will be similar to one that is already being used at the Winthrop Ballpark with one key addition, the ability to have live video and video replay. According to Mr. Hickman, Winthrop becomes the third school in the Big South to have a video board in their basketball arena, with Liberty and High Point being the others.

Dan Murray is the Assistant AD for Facility and Operations and says that the new scoreboard, in addition to video, will be capable of displaying player pictures, animations, individual and team stats, and even a fancy video introduction before the game. The actual scoreboard itself is a video screen that is not much bigger than the old scoreboard. However with everything else added in around it, such as ads, the new board is five feet taller than the old one.

According to Mr. Murray, the scoreboard will be run through two key computer systems. The first is called Venus 7000, which will act as the brains of the system. The second is called VPlay, which is a video switching system that will store most of the information. Mr. Murray said they will have to create new templates for the scoreboard, because everything will be displayed on the video screen. He stresses that it might be a while before they implement everything that is desired.

"It is going to take a lot of time and a lot of programming," Murray said.

There are a couple of other benefits that can come with the new scoreboard. The first is the possible increase in sponsorships. Because ads can be displayed on the board, more companies might advertise at games. Murray says the school he was previously at, UNC Charlotte, installed a similar scoreboard and saw an increase in advertising at games. The second benefit will be the ability to watch the NCAA Selection Show and watch Winthrop play in the NCAA tournament at the Coliseum, should they make it back again this year.

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