NEW PALTZ — A new and improved SUNY New Paltz Athletics web site was launched recently, providing visitors with added features and capabilities.
The site’s new location, “hawk.newpaltz.edu/athletics”, has a flashy look, easier to use features and has been redesigned to meet the needs of our visually and hearing impaired visitors.
Although its location has changed, the site remains the source for the latest news, results and statistics about the university’s 20 intercollegiate teams.
Among the improvements is a revamped front page, with a menu down the left side linking visitors to information, both general and specific to individual teams. The first few paragraphs of the two most recent press releases (visitors can click on a link to read the entire story) are listed in the middle of the page, and the upper right side of the page features the use of Flash animation, which allows a Hawk to “fly” and letters to “drop” onto the page and several photos to alternate. Once the fall sports seasons begin, a scoreboard of results will also appear.
On the individual sports pages, the rosters, results, statistics and team information remain available, with new features expected to be added in the near future.
University Web Coordinator Rachel Reuben credited Ugyen Namgyel, a student from Delhi, NY, who has worked in the university’s Office of Public Affairs since January 1999, with much of the ideas and work on this project.
“Ugyen pitched this new design to the graphic designers on the Web Team, who immediately loved it,” Reuben said. “His expertise in graphics editing, Flash animation, and additional advanced web programming languages all contributed to the finished product.”
“In order to maintain a strong image and identity, the Web Team felt it was important to give the athletics site an overhaul with a fresh look because our research shows prospective students expect to see new features and/or a new design about once a year,” Reuben said. Since its creation, the university’s web site (www.newpaltz.edu) has garnered widespread acclaim. It earned the State University of New York Council for University Affairs and Development Award for Excellence in Web Site Category the last two years (1999, 2000) and the SUNY Confederation of Alumni Associations Excellence in Alumni Programming Award in the Category of Internet Sites and Electronic Communications for the alumni section of the university web site (www.newpaltz.edu/alumni) in 1999.
