The Sports Video Group (SVG) and the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) are proud to announce that entries are being accepted for the 9th Annual SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards (CSMAs). The SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards recognizes the best in college sports-video production, celebrating those who have pushed the envelope and set a higher standard for the quality of live and pre/postproduced college sports-video content.

Winners and finalists will be honored during the SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards Ceremony on June 1 at the 2017 SVG College Sports Summit (May 31-June 2, Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta).

Enter here:
https://collegesportsmediaawards.secure-platform.com/a

This year’s awards will be given in four divisions across five categories:

Divisions
National Networks
Regional/Local Networks, Syndicators, and Production Companies
Collegiate Athletics
Collegiate Student
Categories

Live Game Production
Live Non-Game Production
Program Series
Special Feature
Promotion Video: Hype, Open, Tease, PSA, or Marketing Campaign

For those who have entered the SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards, please note some key changes to the rules and entry procedures:
• Deadline has been moved up to April 14.
• Live Social-Media Material Accepted
• Conference Digital Networks Move to a New Division
• Professional Production Companies Move to a New Division
• Eligibility of In-Stadium Hype Video

Please note that any party entering a submission to the SVG/NACDA College Sports Media Awards is eligible to attend the SVG College Sports Summit (May 31-June 2, 2017, Atlanta) for free.

Deadline for submissions to the College Sports Media Awards is April 14, 2017. For complete rules and to enter your production, visit http://www.svgcollege.com/college-sports-media-awards/2017-rules/. Any questions regarding submissions please email Andrew Lippe at andrew@sportsvideo.org or call 212-481-8133.

About Sports Video Group
The Sports Video Group was formed in 2006 to support the professional community that relies on video, audio, and broadband technologies to produce and distribute sports content. Leagues, owners, teams, players, broadcasters, webcasters, and consumer technology providers have joined the SVG to learn from each other, turn vision into reality, implement new innovations, while sharing experiences that will lead to advancements in the sports production/distribution process and the overall consumer sports experience. For more information, visit www.sportsvideo.org.

About National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics
NACDA, now in its 50th year, is the professional and educational Association for more than 11,000 college athletics administrators at more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 4,000 athletics administrators annually attend NACDA & Affiliates Convention Week. Additionally, NACDA manages 15 professional associations and three foundations. For more information on NACDA, visit www.nacda.com.

The deadline to apply for a fellowship from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi is April 15, 2017. Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline honor society, will award six $15,000 grants and 51 $5,000 grants to students nationwide.

Since its creation in 1932, the Fellowship Program has become one of the Society’s most visible and financially well-supported endeavors, allocating $345,000 annually to deserving students for first-year graduate or professional study. The competition is open to all active Phi Kappa Phi members who have applied to enroll as a full-time student in a post-baccalaureate program of study during the upcoming academic year.

“This Fellowship Program can transform your life by putting a graduate level educational experience within financial reach, and I thank my Phi Kappa Phi advisors for encouraging me to apply,” said Joseph Schartz, a 2016 Fellow. “I encourage any student who is considering graduate school to learn how Phi Kappa Phi can enable you to go above and beyond as a student scholar.”

The selection process for a Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship is based on the applicant’s evidence of graduate potential, undergraduate academic achievement, service and leadership experience, letters of recommendation, personal statement of educational perspective and career goals, and acceptance at an approved graduate or professional program.

In addition to the Fellowship Program, the Society awards $1.4 million each biennium to qualifying students and members through study abroad grants, dissertation fellowships, funding for post-baccalaureate development, member and chapter awards, and grants for local, national and international literacy initiatives.

Each active Phi Kappa Phi chapter may endorse one candidate from among its local applicants to compete Society-wide for a fellowship. The national deadline for chapters to submit an applicant is April 15, 2017. Chapter deadlines vary. If you are a student interested in applying for a fellowship, visit www.phikappaphi.org/chapterlist to contact your chapter for local deadline information.

For full eligibility requirements and application instructions, visit www.phikappaphi.org/fellowship.

About Phi Kappa Phi
Founded in 1897, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines. Phi Kappa Phi inducts approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni annually. The Society has chapters on more than 300 select colleges and universities in North America and the Philippines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify. The Society’s mission is “To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.” For more information, visit www.phikappaphi.org.

Media Contact
Hannah Breaux
Communications Director
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
hbreaux@phikappaphi.org
225.923.7777

Recently in New Orleans, millions of Americans saw the world’s best basketball talent duke it out in the classic, and yet spectacular ‘NBA All Star Weekend’. Fans watched the game and the ‘Dunk competition’ via cable TV, and others watched pieces of the live experience shared over Facebook Live and Periscope, while many were happy just watching the highlights on Youtube–and some were lucky enough to see it all live.

If you’re a Basketball nut, you might have spent hours online looking for the best videos and livestreams, aiming to get the bigger picture of the overall event. And you probably went through the tedious process of playing one video at a time, only to find out that few of them are worth your attention, and, even more excruciating, it took forever to get to the good bits.

Rhinobird, a Cambridge based company, is transforming how we experience events by watching videos and live-streams. They created what they have called ‘MAV’, or multi angle video. Essentially, it’s a video player that plays multiple videos or live-streams at the same time, giving the user the opportunity to switch across video and audio sources, taking control of the experience in a seamless way, and with zero latency.

But that wasn’t enough, the real magic lies in its ability to sync hundreds of videos and live-streams in orchestrated way. Using a combination of techniques that include meta data analysis and machine learning, Rhinobird has found a unique way to discover and synchronize videos that have been posted directly to its platform or published on Youtube or Facebook–allowing viewers to play all the videos of the same event, live or not live, perfectly timed and within a single player box–without additional search or time consuming editing.

The result – check out how Rhinobird delivers a new way to experience the NBA All Stars Game and Dunk Contest.

But even that wasn’t enough! Seeking to connect with an increasing demand for more immersive experiences, Rhinobird’s CEO Felipe Heusser explains, “We have found a way to present video in an entirely different way, it’s no longer a linear piece you play and sit back to watch, but a medium in which you interact, take control, and eventually take part in by contributing your own angle into the experience.”

This is a completely different approach where videos are ‘never-ending’ and in ‘constant evolution’, allowing viewers to submit their own angle into the MAV and become part of the overall experience, even after the MAV has been published. This is exactly what happened with Afolabi Kolawole, a student from Northeastern University in Boston, who after playing with the All Star Weekend MAV on Rhinobird, decided to add his own dunks into the experience.

Rhinobird presents a solution that empowers the crowd to deliver stories that are only possible when combining the sum of the parts–wherever that content might be. That’s why Rhinobird works remarkably well for any event where there are lots of cameras trying to capture the same experience, like music festivals such as Lollapalooza, a sport event like Superbowl 51, or even during important social movements like the Women’s March in Boston. Rhinobird also gives users have a chance to sing, dance and play along with their favorite artists.

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Rhinobird, incubated at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, is about to close a USD $2M seed round and is in active discussions with two major sport leagues, a prominent NFL team, and a world class sport brand. They are also partnering with the producers of Lollapalooza in Latin America, and waiting to close deals with some of the most important music festivals in the US for the upcoming Summer season.

The name of the company was inspired by the the symbiotic relationship that exists between two very different, and yet mutually dependent species. Like the rhinoceros and the oxpecker bird, this new platform is using cooperation to bring video to an entirely new interactive level. Starting this week, the app will be available for iOS users (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rhinobird-multi-angle-video-streaming-lipsync/id1049432684?mt=8), and on the Web at www.Rhinobird.tv. A native Android version of the app is coming soon.

Rhinobird Press Contact: 
Suraya Akbarzad
suraya.akbarzad@blancandotus.com

The Story About A Pilgrimage: From Catholic Military Chaplain, Vietnam Hawk And Medal Of Honor Recipient To Civilian Warrior For Peace

On July 29, 1986, Charles J. Liteky placed the Congressional Medal of Honor he received for his service in Vietnam at the base of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. In his posthumously published autobiography, “Renunciation,” Mr. Liteky explains his reason for returning this award at a significant time in his life as he was taking the next step in his personal pilgrimage from a Roman Catholic priest, military chaplain and Vietnam hawk to a civilian warrior for peace.

Mr. Liteky passed away on January 20 of this year in San Francisco. A memorial service was held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church & Center in San Francisco on Saturday, March 4. “Renunciation,” which had been in development for several years, now has been published by friends who admired and often joined Mr. Liteky’s call for peace.

“Renunciation” is available on Amazon.com in paperback and ebook. The book also can be ordered directly from the new Charles Liteky website – charlieliteky.org . Learn more about the Charles Liteky story on the website and follow on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/charleslitekyrenunciation/

“Renunciation” explains Mr. Liteky’s journey from his impressionable days as a youth in Florida to his time as a Catholic priest and service as a U.S. Army chaplain. The story reflects on his decision to leave the priesthood and pursue a path as a peace activist.

Mr. Liteky displayed courage on the battlefield and then he displayed another kind of courage to question the military establishment and the church’s support of the Vietnam War. The story examines Mr. Liteky’s early days as a son in a military family, his path to the priesthood, military service as a chaplain and, then, after the war, working with courageous women and men to oppose U.S. military strategies around the world, including American foreign policy in Central America.

Horrified when four missionary women were murdered in El Salvador by that country’s national guard on December 2, 1980, Mr. Liteky and others opposed the training of Latin American officers at the School of the Americas (now the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation) at Fort Benning near Columbus, Georgia. Mr. Liteky later opposed the war in Iraq.

“Throughout this book, Charlie’s voice speaks loud and clear for the silent and those who have been silenced,” said Joseph P. Fahey, a retired professor of religious studies at New York’s Manhattan College. “It is a challenging story for anyone in the military, for religious and for all of us. We hope that Charlie’s pilgrimage will inspire others to act when necessary and have the personal courage to change.”

Mr. Liteky never planned to publish a book about his life. He had written it to help “exorcise some of the demons” from his past. Mr. Liteky’s wife, Judy, finally convinced her husband to publish his story, insisting that his personal story would prove valuable to many others. Mr. Liteky agreed to publish his story once Mr. Fahey volunteered to see the book through to publication. A former nun, Judy Balch Liteky passed away during 2016.

Service In Vietnam

Mr. Liteky received the United States’ highest military honor for actions of bravery on December 6, 1967. He had volunteered, during 1966, to serve as a U.S. Army chaplain with the 199th Infantry Brigade. As he faced combat for the first time, he neglected shrapnel wounds and, without a weapon, helmet or flak jacket, exposed himself to mortars, land mines and machine guns to rescue 23 wounded colleagues who had been ambushed by a Vietcong battalion. He evacuated injured soldiers and administered last rites to the dying.

The Medal of Honor was awarded to Mr. Liteky for the lives he saved on the battlefield. He never thought that he deserved the medal any more than the many other courageous medics and soldiers who placed their lives in danger for their colleagues. These men included the medics who died on that same day.

Mr. Liteky is the only recipient of the award who is believed to have returned it in a demonstration of political dissent, opposing the U.S. government’s support for Central American dictators accused of brutally suppressing leftist guerrillas. Mr. Liteky placed the medal in an envelope addressed to President Ronald Reagan. He placed the medal at the Vietnam memorial. The National Park Service recovered the medal for the collection of the National Museum of American History.

Long after the war and after he left the priesthood, Mr. Liteky served two federal prison terms (1990 and 2000) for civil disobedience — his ministry of protest — for trespassing at the U.S. Army’s School of the Americas at Fort Benning. The reasons for his actions during the war and after were, according to Mr. Liteky, “to save lives.”

More About Charles James Liteky

Charles James Liteky was born in Washington, D.C., on February 14, 1931. Raised mostly in Jacksonville, Florida, he attended the University of Florida for two years. He then entered the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, a religious congregation in Silver Spring, Maryland, and he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest during 1960 as Angelo J. Liteky (the name under which he also received the military medal).

During his life, Mr. Liteky also resided in California, Hawaii, New York and Ohio, and his life was influenced by experiences in San Diego and San Francisco, Pearl Harbor, Brooklyn, Cleveland and Fort Benning.

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Media Contact
Mike Virgintino
MRV Communications
(516) 885-3875
mvirgintino@yahoo.com

The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi has extended membership invitations to students at universities and colleges across the nation. Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society.

Each year, Phi Kappa Phi invites approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni on more than 300 campuses in the United States and the Philippines. Membership is by invitation only to the top 7.5 percent of juniors and the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students. Faculty, professional staff and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction may also qualify for membership.

Since its founding, more than 1.5 million members have been initiated into the Society. The roster of inducted members boasts leaders in just about every field imaginable, including medicine, education, business, government, science, the arts and more.

“For 120 years, Phi Kappa Phi has celebrated academic excellence in all fields of higher education,” said Society Executive Director Dr. Mary Todd. “We look forward to continuing this legacy of scholarship by honoring the outstanding achievements of eligible students on our chapter campuses.”

In addition to academic recognition, Phi Kappa Phi offers numerous benefits and resources to assist members throughout their academic and professional lives. Included in these benefits is the opportunity to apply for a number of awards, valued at $1.4 million each biennium. The Society’s award programs provide everything from $15,000 fellowships for graduate school to $500 grants for continuing education and professional development.

Phi Kappa Phi also offers career resources, networking, exclusive discounts from more than 25 corporate partners, leadership opportunities and more.

To learn more about membership in Phi Kappa Phi and its benefits, visit www.phikappaphi.org.

More about Phi Kappa Phi 
The Society’s mission is “To recognize and promote academic excellence in all fields of higher education and to engage the community of scholars in service to others.” Some of the organization’s more notable members include former President Jimmy Carter, NASA astronaut Wendy Lawrence, novelist David Baldacci and YouTube cofounder Chad Hurley. The Society has awarded approximately $15 million since the inception of its awards program in 1932. Today, $1.4 million is awarded each biennium to qualifying students and members through graduate fellowships, undergraduate study abroad grants, member and chapter awards, and grants for local and national literacy initiatives. For more information about Phi Kappa Phi, visit www.phikappaphi.org.

Media Contact
Hannah Breaux
Communications Director
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
hbreaux@phikappaphi.org
225.923.7777

Together with Education in Ireland, Go Overseas is excited to announced our biggest scholarship award ever. We’re offering 26 scholarships — 15 undergrad and 11 postgraduate scholarships — worth more than $290,000 in tuition waivers.

The 26 scholarships cover tuition at 12 universities, polytechnical institutes and private colleges throughout Ireland. Fifteen of the scholarships are for undergraduate semesters abroad and 11 are master’s and PhD programs in the fields of the arts, law, and medicine. While all applications will be judged on merit, 4 of the scholarships have been reserved for diversity to encourage more students of color, LGBT students, and students with disabilities to apply. Two lucky scholarship winners will also receive free round-trip flights to Ireland courtesy of Aer Lingus.

The amount of each tuition waiver varies by program and covers tuition only, not any additional fees, travel, or accommodation. The scholarships are only open to US students.

To apply, applicants need to fill out a short questionnaire, upload a creative Ireland-themed photo, and write a 300-word essay about why they want to study in Ireland. Applications are open now. You can find the application here (https://www.gooverseas.com/scholarships/ireland) and additional information here (https://www.gooverseas.com/scholarships/ireland/application-guide).

The deadline to enter is March 17, 2017.

Media contact: 
Katie Hammel
Marketing Manager
Katie@GoOverseas.com

Call for entries issued to college students across the US & Canada; IBM and Campbell Soup Company present 2017 brand challenges

New York (February 17, 2017) – The North American Effie Awards is eager to announce its Call for Entries for the eighth annual Collegiate Effie competition. Collegiate Effie has teamed up with two Effie-winning companies to introduce the 2017 brand challenges: IBM® and Campbell Soup Company, for Pace.

The Collegiate Effie Awards serve to recognize, inspire, educate, and engage the marketers of tomorrow. Modeled after the North American Effie Awards competition, the Collegiate Effies give students an opportunity to research, ideate, and execute comprehensive marketing communications plans that address professional-level marketing challenges.

The IBM® Brand Challenge is a regional competition, open to students in the US and Canada.

Students must develop a non-traditional integrated marketing campaign, focusing on IBM Watson®, to help make a younger generation of consumers aware of the IBM brand and Watson’s cognitive capabilities. The IBM Brand Challenge tasks entrants to create a strategy that will help young people discover surprising ways to incorporate cognitive computing technologies into their daily lives. This is IBM’s first Collegiate Effie challenge.

The Pace Brand Challenge is a national competition, open to students in the US.

Students must develop an integrated, multi-channel marketing campaign designed to encourage the target audience to try Pace and define the brand as the salsa of choice for Taco Night. This is Campbell Soup Company’s second consecutive year presenting a challenge. Last year, the company chose to highlight their V8+Energy brand.

Both challenges are open to students who are currently enrolled full/part-time, with at least junior standing, at an accredited educational institution, graduate students, and students enrolled in portfolio programs.

Qualifying entries will be judged by industry professionals across various disciplines, including creative, strategic planning, media strategy, branding, marketing, and social media. Selected finalists for each challenge will have the opportunity to present their work to senior members of the IBM and Pace brand teams.

The entry deadline for both challenges is April 4, 2017. For complete details on the Collegiate Effie competition, please visit www.effie.org/collegiate-effie.

About Effie Worldwide
Effie Worldwide is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization devoted to championing and improving the practice and practitioners of marketing effectiveness. Effie Worldwide, organizer of the Effie Awards, spotlights marketing ideas that work and encourages thoughtful dialogue around the drivers of marketing effectiveness, while serving as an educational resource for the industry. The Effie network works with some of the top research and media organizations worldwide to bring its audience relevant insights into effective marketing strategy. The Effie Awards are known by advertisers and agencies globally as the preeminent effectiveness award in the industry, and recognize any and all forms of marketing communication that contribute to a brand’s success. Since 1968, winning an Effie Award has become a global symbol of achievement. Today, Effie celebrates effectiveness worldwide with over 40 global, regional and national programs across Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East/N orth Africa and North America. All Effie Awards finalists and winners are included in the annual Effie Effectiveness Index rankings. The Effie Index identifies and ranks the marketing communications industry’s most effective agencies, marketers, and brands by analyzing finalist and winner data from all Effie Awards competitions worldwide.

For more details, visit www.effie.org and follow the Effies on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn

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Media Contact
Nisha Stephen
nisha@effie.org
646-254-6311

GoFundMe Releases New Tools and New Data to Help Students Pay for College

REDWOOD CITY, CA | February 15, 2017 — GoFundMe today released a new guidebook highlighting the growing trend of college students who are turning to GoFundMe to pay for tuition and other costs associated with college. In the last three years alone, over 130,000 GoFundMes have raised $60 million from over 850,000 donations for college tuition and related expenses.

The GoFundMe Guidebook includes three sections:

1. National Data:

New national data about the growing trend of students using social fundraising to pay for school.

2. Step-by-Step Instructions and Tips to Launch a Successful GoFundMe:

Step-by-step instructions and important tips for students about how to create a successful GoFundMe to raise money for college.

3. State-Specific Data:

State-specific data about the cost of college and information about students in your state who have turned to GoFundMe to help reduce their college costs.

To view the guidebook, click HERE.

GoFundMe today also released a new college fundraising hub, which will serve as a resource for students and their communities. We want to make it as easy as possible for GoFundMe donors to find students, as well as giving students and their families the tips and tools they need for a successful campaign. Students and donors can visit the college fundraising hub here: https://www.gofundme.com/college-tuition-fundraising

GoFundMe has made these new resources available to all students, parents, faculty and staff at college campuses across the country to show how easy it is to reduce a student’s bills. GoFundMe will continue to share tips and best practices directly with students to empower them to start campaigns.

About GoFundMe
Launched in 2010, GoFundMe is the world’s largest social fundraising platform, with over $3 billion raised so far. With a community of more than 25 million donors, GoFundMe is changing the way the world gives.

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Media Contact
Bobby Whithorne
(949) 233-9977
bwhithorne@gofundme.com

Colleges All Over The U.S.A. and Canada are Using Oxygen Bars to Decrease Student Stress and Increase Health & Wellness Awareness.

Delray Beach, Florida – February 13th, 2017

Exam week is probably the most stressful time in a college students life. In many instances the student’s future is riding on how well they do. Universities and colleges are structuring stress free days and weekends to provide some stress relief during this difficult period. We have seen the deployment of everything from juice bars, chair massages, and petting zoos, but nothing seems to deliver the excitement, attention, and results that an oxygen bar rental does for these kind of student events.

Colleges and universities all across the U.S. and Canada are making the oxygen bar THE focal point of student stress-free days. Students line up for the relaxing and stress reducing effects offered by breathing oxygen with the added benefit of aromatherapy through the use of all-natural and organic essential oils. There are usually up to a dozen scents offered to the users to choose from. Lavender and vanilla add to the already calming effects of oxygen, while other scents such as eucalyptus and peppermint will energize the student looking to be “on top of their game” studying and focused.

Just a 10 minute session on an oxygen bar provides:
• Healthful revitalizing oxygen
• Stress relief
• Benefits of aromatherapy
• A social environment where students can interact with their peers
• A unique photo opportunity to be posted on the social network

Airheads Oxygen Bars is the largest oxygen bar manufacturer and rental company in the world. They have been providing oxygen bars to colleges, universities, and high schools since 1998. Other school related events where oxygen bars are being used are:
• Homecoming events
• Fraternity and sorority pledging parties and events
• Smoking cessation events
• Student orientation
• Concerts and campus special events

Airheads Oxygen Bars - The world’s largest oxygen bar manufacturer and rental company – “Breathing New Life Into Student Life Events!”
Contact: Martin Unger 1.888.622.7662 or via email at oxygenbars@airheads1.com