AT&T Scores Online Hosting Agreement With the NCAA(R)

INDIANAPOLIS, March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Web site that provides real-time rankings, sports statistics and multimedia resources to thousands of NCAA student-athletes and associations is enhancing its performance, with faster, more reliable online experiences. AT&T* today announced that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has awarded AT&T Business Solutions, an official NCAA Corporate Champion, a three-year contract for hosting and application management, powered by AT&T Synaptic Infrastructure(SM), its next-generation utility computing platform.

The NCAA sought a single provider to manage and proactively monitor the Web content and IT infrastructure of its NCAA.org site, primarily designed for NCAA schools and student-athletes. AT&T is providing a flexible solution that facilitates speedy, simpler site functionality and can handle spikes in Web traffic especially during seasonal peak traffic times around NCAA March Madness and other sports-related collegiate activities, such as NCAA recruiting seasons.

AT&T's certified professionals will manage NCAA's IBM(R) Lotus(R) Web Content Management(TM) and WebSphere(R) Portal solutions to create an interface that Web managers use to add, catalog and publish sports data and programs. IBM WebSphere(R) Portal management, the power behind the site, facilitates reliable upkeep of the site's applications, saving NCAA from potential costly downtime and freeing NCAA's in-house IT resources to focus on other strategic initiatives.

"Having a single source for all our Web needs allows the NCAA technology team to develop greater online services for our business, our student-athletes and their sports," said Jim Isch, Chief Financial Officer, NCAA. "AT&T's world class solutions keep our site and applications in peak performance around-the-clock, enhancing our productivity and our visitors' Web site experience."

The NCAA's Web application solution will be deployed on AT&T's Synaptic Hosting platform, which delivers bandwidth on demand to provide a quality online experience for users no matter the season. Meeting the demands of real-time Web traffic, AT&T Synaptic Infrastructure adds another layer of reliability such that all facets of NCAA.org are accessible to users when they need them.

"AT&T is a trusted online technology advisor beyond being our provider of communications solutions," added Isch. "AT&T offers a single source for management, with the service and proactive monitoring needed in today's 24/7 digital world. We're providing a greater experience for our audiences and elevating the importance of NCAA sports in America."

As an Official NCAA Corporate Champion since 2002, AT&T has supported the NCAA in various capacities as a way to engage NCAA fans and AT&T customers. AT&T also provides NCAA content to fans through its MobiTV service for wireless devices.

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