Furm's Take: Welcome To GoMessiah.com
By Cory Furman
Assistant Athletics Director, Messiah College
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Posted Apr. 24, 2008
Better promotion and representation of Messiah's student-athletes were the primary motives for GoMessiah.com.

Grantham, PA — Alright. I need a nap.

What you’re looking at right now is the culmination of countless hours worked by multiple individuals, a plethora of late-night meals consumed in my office and a variety of web design meetings attended, the majority of which involved discussions way over the head of yours truly.

But this is the result.

It’s GoMessiah.com.

When I accepted this position in late November, re-designing the official website of Messiah College athletics was a top priority. The school’s administration wanted a site that better represented the incredible work and achievements put forth by our student-athletes, and I agreed.

Following nearly four months of planning, design work and massive overhaul, it’s complete.

Almost.

The “old” Messiah athletic site consisted of roughly 28,000 files, 1,600 folders and four gigabytes of space on the school’s web server, roughly one fourth of the entire Messiah.edu domain. When you’re talking about a project that big, there are going to be some loose ends to tie up. In the coming weeks, visitors will notice the addition of player biographies, increased statistical archives and new features throughout the site, as those tasks were simply above and beyond what could be fit into our tight time frame.

Still, we think that GoMessiah.com — in its initial form — will be just what fans, friends and supporters of Messiah athletics have been longing for. You’ll get vivid game-day photography for every sporting event, including timely recaps complete with coach’s comments. Video and photo galleries for certain events will be added, while the site’s smooth navigation features should make getting around a cinch, even for a guy like me.

And, if you’re guessing I had little to do with the technical side of this project, you’d be correct. A tremendous amount of thanks goes to soon-to-be graduate Patrick Card, who returned to Messiah during the spring semester as a temporary employee and the school’s official athletics web designer / coordinator. His work ethic and attention to detail have been incredible, as you’ll notice when browsing.

I would be remiss not to thank the rest of Messiah’s office of marketing and public relations, as those folks guided us in our overall direction, as well as granting us some flexibility within the school’s existing web framework. Matt Brandt, web content manager, was a constant source of support, while graphic designer Scott Trobaugh created nearly every image you’ll see on these pages.

Throw in Messiah’s ITS department — which handled some of the more complicated bells and whistles — and you’ve got yourself GoMessiah.com.

In the coming days and weeks, I urge you to drop me a line if you see something out of place, a link is broken, or you have general suggestions. The only way this thing gets better is by making us aware. I was amazed at the flood of emails I received after writing a column about our women’s basketball team and their national championship run. I wish I could personally thank each one of you who wrote, but the emails kept pouring in.

It’s great to be complimented, but constructive criticism is good, too. When we came up with the idea for GoMessiah.com, we envisioned creating a web site that would be among the best of all NCAA Division III athletic programs. We wanted a place that our student-athletes could be proud to call their home on the web, a place that gives a virtual experience of just how special Messiah is in real life.

GoMessiah.com is here, as of 12 p.m. today. We hope you enjoy.

Cory Furman is the assistant athletics director for public relations and marketing at Messiah College. His monthly column, “Furm’s Take” does not necessarily represent the views of Messiah College or the Messiah College department of athletics. Have a comment? Click here to send him an email.