BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The new year always brings with it a number of changes ... no change has been bigger for Northampton Athletics than the launch of the Spartan Sports Network through the partnership with iHigh and the NJCAA.

This unique partnership provides NJCAA member schools the ability to broadcast their events on-line for no cost.  "It was a no-brainer for us when we heard about the opportunity," remarked Director of Athletics Troy Tucker, "we knew it was something that we wanted to jump into and thanks to our staff, especially Megan Maxwell, we were able to begin broadcasting our home basketball games on January 19th."

While many NJCAA schools throughout the country have taken advantage of the iHigh partnership, Tucker believes Northampton is at the cutting edge, "While a number of schools in the midwest jumped in earlier than us, many were simply just streaming video of the event.  We have been able to not only have video but have added audio as well with live play by play and color commentary of the events."

The lead play by play man is Northampton student Walt Ruff.  Ruff, a native of Alburtis, PA, is a Radio/TV major at NCC who has had a passion for sports from a young age, "I've always been involved in sports in one fashion or another and announcing has allowed me to continue to follow that passion." 

Ruff, a graduate of Emmaus, brings a tremendous knowledge of sports to the broadcast and provides fans with a number of insights and detailed information regarding the players, coaches and teams in general.  "It's a tremendous opportunity," remarked Ruff, "to be able to broadcast live not only gets me hands-on experience, but creates a portfolio for me to show to prospective employers."

Fans can view Northampton basketball games on their computer by logging on to www.nccspartans.com and clicking on the NJCAA TV / iHigh icon on the middle of the page.  The next live broadcast will be Thursday February 7th when the Spartans host Sussex County Community College in a women's and men's doubleheader.