Georgia Tech Athletic Department Launches First Mobile App

/PRNewswire/ -- Marking its first foray into the mobile arena, Georgia Tech's Athletic Department released today a free mobile app covering football and men's and women's basketball. Produced in-house by Georgia Tech sports information and marketing staff using Whoop's web-based Creative Studio (www.whoop.com), Georgia Tech's rich media mobile app is designed to work on many different mobile phones, offering up-to-the-minute live updates of games, news feeds, team and player statistics, schedules, audio and video highlights, and links to ticket sales. There's also direct access to Athletic Director Dan Radakovich's "The Good Word" blog.

"Like many college athletic departments, Georgia Tech has been bombarded with pitches from mobile web site builders and iPhone app developers," said Wayne Hogan, associate athletic director for public relations. "Because of its limitations, a mobile web site wasn't our first priority and building just an iPhone app didn't make sense strategically because it would have excluded many of our students, alumni, fans and media who carry other mobile devices, like Blackberry or Windows Mobile phones. So when we saw Whoop's do-it-yourself mobile platform in action, which lets us build and control our own mobile channel and reach all different types of phones, we jumped at the opportunity."

"As one of the world's premier institutes of higher learning and a perennial sports leader in the ACC with rabidly passionate football and basketball fans, Georgia Tech is an ideal client for us," said Jeff Wilson, EVP of sales and marketing of Whoop. "With this new mobile app, Tech fans will be able to stay engaged with their teams wherever and whenever they want. It's like having their own personal college sports channel on their mobile phone."

Georgia Tech's mobile app was built in the Whoop Creative Studio, a web-based platform that's as easy to use as PowerPoint. In opening up mobile app creation to non-developers, Whoop makes it simple for schools, companies, agencies and organizations to produce and publish their own mobile channels, quickly and affordably.

To download the Georgia Tech mobile app, text the word "Jackets" to 53000 and follow the instructions. Standard messaging rates apply.

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Georgia State Baseball Headed to Atlanta Regional

Making its first trip to an NCAA Regional, the Georgia State baseball team will stay close to home and play at Georgia Tech as part of the Atlanta Regional beginning Friday. The Yellow Jackets will host as the top seed, while Elon and Southern Miss round out the four-team, double-elimination bracket.

The fourth-seeded Panthers will play Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. on Friday night at Russ Chandler Stadium.

The entire team and coaching staff watched the NCAA selection show at local restaurant Six Feet Under near the Georgia State campus, along with numerous Panther fans.

“It’s a fantastic day for our baseball organization,” commented head coach Greg Frady. “The opportunity to play in an NCAA Regional is the culmination of a full body of work for the season. Seeing our name called on ESPN and going to our first-ever Regional is a wonderful experience.”

Each of the 16 four-team regionals will be played Friday through Monday, with the regional winners advancing to NCAA Super Regionals.

Fans interested in purchasing tickets should call the Georgia State Athletics ticket office at 1.866.GA.STATE beginning Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m.

The Panthers (39-20) earned an automatic NCAA berth, the first in school history, by winning the Colonial Athletic Association championship with four straight victories. Georgia State has already posted a school-record victory total and enters NCAA play with an eight-game winning streak, equaling a school record. The Panthers have won 13 of their last 15 games.

“We feel great that we played baseball at a high level to win our conference championship and qualify for the NCAA Tournament.” It’s a most wonderful time to be at Georgia State University. There is so much excitement and enthusiasm about about our University and our athletic department, and it feels great to be a big part of that.”

Georgia State is one of five teams making its first appearance in the tournament.

The Panthers split with the Yellow Jackets this season and have won at Russ Chandler Stadium two times in the last three years. State earned a 10-1 win against No. 3 Georgia Tech back in March, the highest ranked opponent that the Panthers have ever defeated.

Junior Bradley Logan, who earned CAA Most Outstanding Player honors at last week’s CAA Championship after hitting four home runs in four games, leads the veteran laden team. A total of 11 seniors round out the roster, led by senior catcher Marc Mimeault who led the Panthers with a .394 batting average and 14 home runs.

All postseason games will air live on WRAS-FM 88.5 beginning with Panther Sports Talk, 30 minutes prior to game time. Live stats will be provided via NCAA.com and GeorgiaStateSports.com.

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Watch Top NCAA Head Coaches and Celebrities Meet Their Rivals on the Links

/PRNewswire/ -- Thirteen top NCAA head coaches including Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Frank Beamer and Rick Neuheisel will team up with celebrity alumni and hit the links to battle for $350,000 in scholarship money in the Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater at Reynolds Plantation Christmas Day. Fans across the country can tune in to see how their favorite university team fares in the tournament Dec. 25 at 2:30 p.m. (ET) on CBS.

Top CBS Sports personalities Bill Macatee and Bill Raftery make up the broadcast team that will call the action.

"This is one of those unique and wonderful events where the personalities of the coaches and celebrities really come out," said Bill Macatee of CBS Sports. "It's so rare to be able to see a new side of them. You can tell they're having fun out there and it's fun for us to be a part of it."

The Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater at Reynolds Plantation is the premier head coach-celebrity golf event in the nation pitting rivals against each other in a spirited, but light-hearted competition. The event features pairings that include a university head coach and a celebrity alumnus from the same school competing in a scramble format against other university teams from around the country. The event will award $350,000 in scholarship winnings among the 13 university teams and will donate another $115,000 to charity.

"The Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater is a fantastic event," said Alabama head coach Nick Saban. "They did an outstanding job of making it a first-class event and we really enjoyed being a part of the tournament."

Players and teams for the 2008 Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater include:

Team Alabama
Coach: Nick Saban
Celebrity: Ken Stabler

Team Arizona State
Coach: Frank Kush
Celebrity: Michael Haynes

Team Auburn
Coach: Tommy Tuberville
Celebrity: Pat Sullivan

Team Boston College
Coach: Jeff Jagodzinski
Celebrity: Chris O'Donnell

Team Colorado
Coach: Bill McCartney
Celebrity: Kordell Stewart

Team Georgia Tech
Coach: Paul Johnson
Celebrity: Jon Barry

Team Maryland
Coach: Ralph Friedgen
Celebrity: Neil O'Donnell

Team Michigan
Coach: Rich Rodriguez
Celebrity: Brian Griese

Team Minnesota
Coach: Tubby Smith
Celebrity: Jim Petersen

Team South Carolina
Coach: Steve Spurrier
Celebrity: Sterling Sharpe

Team UCLA
Coach: Rick Neuheisel
Celebrity: Sinjin Smith

Team Virginia Tech (defending champions)
Coach: Frank Beamer
Celebrity: Dell Curry

Team Wake Forest
Coach: Jim Grobe
Celebrity: Billy Packer



"This field of coaches and celebrities is simply awesome," said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. "One thing is for sure, this year's match will be even more toughly contested than last year's. These guys are here to win."

In addition to seeing competitive golf on a championship-caliber golf course in a beautiful, lakeside setting, viewers will be treated to personal interviews with all the participating coaches that give viewers an inside look at the personalities that drive the men that roam the sidelines of these top national programs.

"The Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater was a first-class, well-organized event played on an outstanding golf course," Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez said. "Brian Griese and I really enjoyed the competition against coaches and distinguished alumni from other institutions."

"We are thrilled to, once again, host the Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater," said Mercer Reynolds, chairman/CEO of Linger Longer Companies. "The coaches and celebrities always make this a fun event and this year, we had a hard- fought competition on our Oconee Course. We are excited to share the beauty of Reynolds Plantation with the nation on Christmas Day."

The Chick-fil-A Bowl Alma Mater at Reynolds Plantation is produced by veteran golf producer Jim Walton Jr. in conjunction with Pithey Communications for CBS Sports. Walton has also produced other golf specials including the ADT Cliffs Challenge, the Palmer Cup, The Pressure Challenge, the Doyle Brunson & Dewey Tomko Invitational and the Kiwi Challenge. The event's executive producer is Scott Savlov of Savlov Consulting, Inc. who also executive produced such events as The Par 3 Challenge on Fox, the Under Pressure Challenge on CBS and Rock the Rock from Alcatraz on VH1.

The tournament was played April 29 at the beautiful Oconee Course at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia and was taped for the national broadcast by CBS from 2:30 - 4 p.m. (ET) on Christmas Day.

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Roddy Jones, Todd Reesing, Jeremiah Johnson and Sam Bradford Announced as Week Fourteen Nominees for the AT&T All-America Player of the Week Award

/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Four nominees for the AT&T All-America Player of the Week award have been announced after the fourteenth week of college football action, and now it's up to fans to determine the winner. Georgia Tech running back Roddy Jones, University of Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing, University of Oregon running back Jeremiah Jones and University of Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford have been selected by ESPN as this week's top candidates, based on the players' outstanding performances over the weekend. Fans can text VOTE to 51234 on their wireless phone to opt in for the chance to vote.

Jones rushed for a career-best 214 yards and two touchdowns in the Yellow Jackets' 45-42 upset over University of Georgia. Reesing went 37-51 for 375 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winning score with 27 seconds left, in the Jayhawks' 40-37 upset over University of Missouri. Johnson rushed for 219 yards and a touchdown in the Ducks' 65-38 victory over Oregon State. Bradford went 30-44 for 370 yards and four touchdowns in the Sooners' 61-41 win over rival Oklahoma State.

"This was another great week in college football. These four players really helped to deliver their respective teams some exciting victories," said Tim McGhee, director of corporate sponsorships for AT&T. "We are excited to present the opportunity, but it is now all in the fans hands to pick the week fourteen recipient of the AT&T All-America Player of the Week Award."

Fans have until 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday to submit their votes. The winner will be announced during Thursday's ESPN College Football Primetime Presented by Applebee's. Standard text messaging rates apply.

There is no limit on fan voting, and each vote counts as one entry into a sweepstakes to win a trip to the 2009 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship game in Miami. Full sweepstakes rules can be found at www.espnallamerica.com/rules.aspx.

In December, four finalists for the AT&T All-America Player of the Year Award will be announced during a one-hour special on ESPN in conjunction with the announcement of the AT&T ESPN All-America Team as selected by the Football Writers Association of America. Fans will then get a chance to say who the best player in the nation is by voting for the AT&T All-America Player of the Year through the BCS. Voting ends at noon ET on Jan. 6, and the winner will be announced during the BCS National Championship game on FOX on Jan. 9.

Additionally, AT&T customers can view video highlights and photos of each week's candidates and track their favorite teams through AT&T's wireless NCAA Football Portal, which is accessible on AT&T handsets by launching AT&T MEdia(TM) Net and clicking through to the sports category. AT&T wireless customers with 3G handsets can also watch "Confessions of a College Football Junkie" video clips featuring Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit by accessing ESPN on AT&T CV.*

*AT&T CV requires a MEdia Max Unlimited or MEdia Net Unlimited bundle. Details on AT&T's MEdia Net bundles and other offers are available at http://www.att.com/wireless.

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Enter for a Chance to Win the Ultimate VIP Fan Experience to the Georgia Tech/UGA Rivalry Game

(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Path2College 529 Plan’s VIP Fan Experience Sweepstakes is still open for a final chance to win the Georgia Tech versus University of Georgia ultimate game package to the rivalry game played this year at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on November 29, 2008. Entries must be received online by November 16.

The Ultimate VIP game package includes four tickets to the rivalry game on November 29, limousine transportation to and from the game, pre-game hospitality and sideline passes, two game programs, four game t-shirts and a football autographed by either Head Coach Paul Johnson or Head Coach Mark Richt.

Anyone who has already registered for the Vanderbilt/UGA or Duke/Georgia Tech game packages will automatically be entered for a chance to win. Georgia Tech and UGA fans that have not registered still have until November 16 to enter for their chance to win. The winner of the Ultimate VIP Fan Experience will be announced on November 17.

The sweepstakes, sponsored by the Path2College 529 Plan, Georgia’s official 529 college savings plan, is open to all Georgia residents*. The contest is free and no purchase is necessary. Visit www.path2college529.com for sweepstakes rules and to register for the drawing.

The launch of the sweepstakes coincided with September’s designation by Governor Sonny Perdue as College Savings Month in Georgia. To kick off College Savings Month, the Path2College 529 Plan teamed up with the football programs at the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech to help raise awareness about Georgia’s 529 college savings plan.

Any funds in a Path2College 529 Plan account can be used for tuition, fees, and other qualified college expenses at virtually all colleges in Georgia and nationwide. Contributions made to an account in the Path2College 529 Plan are eligible for the Georgia state income tax deduction and any earnings grow federal and state income tax free. Withdrawals are also tax-free when used for qualified college expenses.

For more information on the Path2College 529 Plan, or to register for the VIP Fan Experience Sweepstakes, visit: www.path2college529.com. Void where prohibited.

* Sweepstakes is also open to all who were Path2College 529 Plan account owners as of 8/25/08, regardless of state of residence.

Consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing in the Path2College 529 Plan. Please visit www.path2college529.com for a Disclosure Booklet containing this and other information. Read it carefully.

Before investing in a 529 plan, you should consider whether the state you or your Beneficiary reside in or have taxable income in has a 529 plan that offers favorable state income tax or other benefits that are only available if you invest in that state’s 529 plan.

Account value in the Investment Options is not guaranteed and will fluctuate based upon a number of factors, including general market conditions.

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Former Yellow Jackets Add Gold Medals in Beijing

Two athletes with ties to the Georgia Institute of Technology received gold medals during the 2008 Olympic games.

Chis Bosh won a gold medal as a member of the U.S. men’s basketball team. Bosh played his frehsman season at Georgia Tech before entering the NBA draft in 2003 and signing with the Toronto Raptors.

Former Georgia Tech track star, Angelo Taylor, won two gold medals in Beijing—one for the men’s 400 meter hurdles and the second for being a member of the first-place 1,600 relay team. Angelo attended Georgia Tech from 1997-98 where he won the NCAA title in 1998 and placed second in 1997.

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Usher's Camp New Look 2008 Continues to Empower and Educate Inner-City Youth

PRNewswire/ -- Grammy Award winning entertainer and philanthropist Usher Raymond IV, in conjunction with his New Look Foundation, will welcome 126 underserved youths from throughout the country to the Atlanta area for this year's Camp New Look. Held July 14-27 at Georgia Tech University in Atlanta, Camp New Look is a two-week summer camp which empowers children and educates them about the business aspects of the sports and entertainment industries. During the free camp, kids ages 12 to 17 will participate in workshops and seminars that will help them to enrich their skills in various areas including New Look's core components -- music, dance, sports, acting, and video production.

Now in its fourth consecutive year, the 2008 Camp New Look curriculum will include the fundamentals of launching a new fragrance. New Look campers will develop and launch a fragrance for an NHL All-Star athlete, getting help and advice from the executive team at Liz Claiborne Cosmetics. Campers will be taught the fundamentals of manufacturing, engineering, marketing, promoting and launching the fragrance. New Look has expanded this program and has also partnered with the WNBA's Atlanta Dream to provide internships with New Look alumni. The joint ventures with the NHL and WNBA will provide Camp New Look graduates with the chance to gain behind-the-scenes insights from the best in the business, while also allowing them to explore and enhance their talents and skills.

"This year's camp is going to be bigger and more exciting than ever," said Usher. "We really strive to provide our campers with the best support and most beneficial experience available. I want to move beyond the exposure of Camp New Look and create a true career pipeline for underserved kids so that they can turn their experiences into careers in multi-billion dollar industries."

Additionally, campers will take field trips to various companies and organizations that are designed to enhance their overall understanding of business. Special guests are also expected to visit the camp to share their professional experiences. Previous guests include music stars Ludacris, Omarion and Lloyd, and athletes Allen Rossum (Atlanta Falcons) and Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic).

On Friday, July 25, Usher and Charles Ellis, store director of Tiffany & Co. Atlanta, will host a private, star-studded reception at the lavish Tiffany & Co. at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta. The celebration will also mark the release of Usher's uCast -- a bi-weekly online series that features an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at Usher's life as a recording star, philanthropist and businessman. uCast is an educational podcast series that receives over 35,000 downloads weekly. Usher's uCast has enjoyed immense popularity, reaching as high as No.7 on I-Tunes music podcasts.

"uCast is really more than a podcast," said Usher. "It's an educational tool for learning how business in the entertainment industry really works. It allows New Look to distribute its message to thousands of viewers each week!"

New Look has served more than 1,300 teens from across the U.S. through Camp New Look in Atlanta and mini-camps in New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Milwaukee.

Atlanta Kidney Transplant Recipient to Represent Georgia in National Transplant Games in Pittsburgh

While many medical students were preparing for board exams in 2006, Ken Sutha was already spending plenty of time in the hospital as a patient.

Diagnosed with kidney disease at age 10, Sutha's condition was stable through high school but worsened during college.

"I knew then that I'd have to either go on dialysis or have a kidney transplant," he says.
Sutha received his kidney from his father, Surachai, at Emory University Hospital in April 2006.

After the transplant, he wanted to find more ways to get involved with transplant patients. He become a camp counselor at Camp Independence in Rutledge, Ga., a camp for children diagnosed with kidney disease or with solid organ transplants. Now in his third year as a counselor, Sutha spends one week a summer sharing experiences with other transplant recipients.

He credits fellow counselors and campers with inspiring him to take up swimming on an advanced level, and his dedication to the sport led to another passion -- training for, and participating in, the National Kidney Foundation Transplant Games.

The Transplant Games, held this year in Pittsburgh July 11-16, are a nationwide sporting event for transplant recipients. The event is the only national athletic competition for recipients of all life-saving organ transplants, as well as the largest gathering of transplant recipients and donor families in the world. Sutha will represent Georgia and compete in the 100-meter medley and race-walking.

"The Transplant Games are something that kind of snowballed once I got into it and everyone found out," Sutha says. "One of the many reasons I am participating is to increase awareness among the general public of the critical need for more organ donors. I want to encourage others to think about organ donation and to talk to their families about it."

Now working on MD/PhD degrees with a focus on stem cell and bone regeneration research at Emory University and Georgia Tech, Sutha believes that his work in biomedical engineering ties in with his transplant surgery.

"I was fortunate enough to receive a living donor kidney from my dad, but in Georgia alone, there are more than 1,950 people waiting for a transplant, and someone to give the gift of life," says Sutha. "I want people to know that transplants work and I am a success story. I'm doing well and leading a normal life. In fact I'm doing more now than I would otherwise."

Amanda McDowell Wins NCAA Singles Championship

Georgia Tech All-American Amanda McDowell completed her run through the NCAA Singles Championships by capturing a straight-set win over Baylor’s Zuzana Zemenova in the finals to become the first Yellow Jacket tennis player to earn an individual national championship.

McDowell dropped her first game of the championship match but won the next five to take the first set 6-2. She then finished off the Baylor All-American by dropping just three games in the second set to win, 6-2, 6-3.

The Yellow Jacket finished her remarkable sophomore campaign with a 45-8 singles record and has notched 84 singles wins through her first two years on the Flats.

McDowell became the first Yellow Jacket to ever advance to the semifinals when she did so this season and won her last four matches of the tournament in straight sets. Zemenova won the NCAA Singles title as a freshman in 2005.