Swamp Fox home games now streamed online

December 14, 2011

Waycross College athletics has expanded its presence on the internet. Thanks to a partnership between the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and the website iHigh.com, Swamp Fox fans can now watch live and archived home basketball and softball games online.

“This is a big boost to our athletic program,” said Cory Baldwin, Waycross College’s athletic director and head men’s basketball coach. “We’re excited about giving our fans the chance to watch our home games online.”

Based in Lexington, Ky., iHigh.com offers free video streaming services to “schools, colleges, and other youth related organizations.” Baldwin said the concept was first used exclusively in high schools then expanded to college athletics through the NJCAA partnership.

Each school or college is given its own page to administer on the iHigh.com website. In addition to live and archived games, Baldwin said the college’s athletic department can also post video of practices, clinics, or informational shows.

“The page is ours to control,” he said.

Currently, archived games are scheduled to remain on the site for one year.

Baldwin said he hopes coaches from four-year colleges and universities will use Waycross College’s page to scout potential recruits.

“If a coach is interested in some of our players and can’t make it to one of our basketball or softball games, he or she can now watch live or pull up an archived game,” he said.

Another significant benefit to the iHigh.com site is the ability for players’ parents to watch games without having to worry about making a trip to Waycross. Baldwin used basketball player Remy Seda as an example.

“Remy is from Belgium. When you think about it, having this site is pretty neat for Remy’s parents. They can now log on and watch a game in Belgium without having to travel to Waycross,” he said.

The site was tested during the Dec. 10 home basketball game against Tennessee Temple University (JV). The online broadcast featured Southside Christian School’s head basketball coach Jamie Brooks as the play-by-play announcer. Baldwin said he has received a lot of positive feedback from last week’s test.

“A lot of people have told me that Jamie did a great job and that the quality of the picture was very clear,” he said.

Baldwin also praised the behind-the-scenes work of the college’s computer services department in getting the page operational.

“To do something like this, you have to have a good (computer services) department with the capability to do live video streaming,” he said. “I’m thankful to Corry Johnson (director of computer services) and David Rowland (network support specialist) for providing the equipment and support to get us started.”

The Dec. 17 home basketball game against Atlanta Sports Academy will be the next event to stream on the college’s iHigh.com page. Baldwin said while he hopes people will take advantage of the online stream, being at a game in person is still the way to go.

“There’s nothing like experiencing a game in our place,” he said.

Plans are to add Swamp Fox softball games when the regular season begins in 2012.

“We’re going to try and cover as many games as we can,” said Baldwin.

To access Waycross College’s iHigh.com page, visit www.waycross.edu/athletics. Click on the “Watch Swamp Fox games online!” link on the homepage.

Waycross College has been a proud member of the University System of Georgia since the College’s founding in 1976.

This is a screen shot of Waycross College’s Dec. 10 home basketball game against Tennessee Temple University (JV). As a result of a new partnership between the NJCAA and iHigh.com, Waycross College home games – both basketball and softball – can now be streamed live online.