October 24, 2007

FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University interim director of athletics Troy Austin has announced the launch of a new official on-line store for Lancers’ Athletics Apparel. The new official store is hosted by Sportstoday, a division of Musictoday, and will feature tee shirts, jerseys, long sleeve shirts, polo shirts, jackets, regular and hooded sweatshirts, sweatpants, hats, and knit caps for both men and women. The store can be accessed via an Official Store link at www.longwoodlancers.com.

“The launch of our web store provides a boost to our marketing initiatives,” said Austin. “The online availability of Longwood Athletics apparel will increase the visibility of our product and establish a greater connectivity to Lancer fans and supporters near and far. As a result, we will be able to develop our brand.”

Sportstoday is a leading provider of online stores and digital marketing services for the sports and entertainment industries. A division of Musictoday, Sportstoday is based in Charlottesville and clients include The University of Virginia Athletics, Tiger Woods, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and The Rolling Stones.

“We are excited about partnering with Longwood Athletics on its online store, and we look forward to providing the fans with a great selection of Lancers merchandise,” said David Eyl, Vice President of Sportstoday.

Longwood is competing this year as one of the newest members to NCAA Division I as the school completed an NCAA-mandated five-year transition process, including a four-year reclassification period (2003-07) that followed a one-year 'exploratory period' (2002-03), to change its membership from Division II to Division I. This is the first reclassification class following a two-year moratorium within the NCAA that lifted on September 1, 2002 for new members and requests for change of division membership. The decision to move to Division I was part of Longwood's overall strategic plan to raise the visibility and profile of the University.