Virtual University Getting A Piece of Athletic Action - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Oct 26, 2000

FRANKFORT, KY.

Kentucky Virtual University, the state's electronic portal to a higher education without lecture halls, dorms or bad cafeteria food, has a sports franchise.

There are already T-shirts from the KVU Athletic Department, and there will be a logo after its selection by an online poll of KVU students.

The next thing you know, the KVU @vengers will probably want state funding for a football stadium. Or they'll try to get investigated by the NCAA.

Actually, the @vengers are a huge success. They started the season 2-0 and already have generated interest and enthusiasm among the far-flung virtual U students and staff.

"We're just trying to have a little bit of fun and raise the awareness of distance-learning opportunities," says Sue Patrick, a spokeswoman for Kentucky Virtual University.

The @vengers help create a sense of sharing and community among the online learners, Patrick says.

The idea was hatched in early 1999 when a publication facetiously suggested that if Virtual U really wanted to be accepted in Kentucky, it needed a mascot and probably a basketball team.

Mary Beth Susman -- all 5-foot-nothing of her -- is @venger coach, head cheerleader and chief executive officer of Kentucky Virtual University. She grabbed the idea of a mascot and ran with it.

There are five other "real" teams in the league -- virtual learning institutions at Michigan, New Hampshire, Old Dominion, Texas and Magellan. Old Dominion adopted the Monarchs, which is the name for its real teams. Michigan

went with MegaRams; Texas is MegaHertz.

To fill out the league, six other schools were invented.

The computer simulation games are played every Saturday and game reports are compiled and sent to Virtual U students. A Web site keeps track of the league, complete with statistics. There will be a full 11-game schedule, then a Virtual Bowl to crown the league champion.

Real Virtual U students lent their names -- some real, some e-mail addresses or nicknames -- to players for the @vengers. There were no in-home recruiting visits or scholarships, though apparently some of the players already have suggested that would be a great idea.

This is not big-time college athletics. Virtual U paid $3,000 to the public relations director at Swarthmore College to run the fantasy football league and is getting most of that back from the other five participating schools.