July 9, 2008

“Beyond the ACCtion” is a special feature of theACC.com which offers insight in to the Atlantic Coast Conference, away from the field of competition.

Here at theACC.com, we have struggled to find the best way to bring you the information you want when you need it and in a way that is interesting. We tossed around the idea of writing a blog, but just the thought of blogging was somewhat overwhelming and intimidating to us, even those tech-savvy staffers.

That is, it was until last week.

I had the opportunity to attend the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) convention in Tampa Bay last week. I’ve been to this convention many times before, but I have only been once in the last several years. It was a little amazing (head-spinningly so) how many people I knew or knew of there – a real “who’s who?” in college athletics. (It also reminded me of how old I really am with former students and interns now working full time in sports media relations, but that’s a blog for another time and place.)

Attending this year proved especially well-timed as the focus of most of the presentations and table topics was on “new media”. One session in particular got my ideas flowing (unprepared for this, I had to mooch paper and pen from a friend). It was all about blogging. The presenters were especially engaging and really helped me break down my own misconceptions and fears of the BLOG.

So, here we are… going Beyond the ACCtion. We are venturing into new territory, hoping to bring you some new perspectives on the Atlantic Coast Conference, who we are and what we are doing to sustain our tradition of excellence. This is uncharted territory, a new game on a new field… no defined course, no set plan… just the goal of informing and entertaining you. We hope you enjoy the journey with us “Beyond the ACCtion”!

Heather Hirschman
Website Coordinator for theACC.com