Most recent revision date: May 1, 2008

Our Commitment to Privacy

We at Showcase U Sports, Inc., operators of Showcase U™, the Internet web site www.showcaseu.com and related databases, online utilities and materials, are committed to protecting the privacy and security of our subscribers and online visitors. As a site used by many high school students (as well as schools, coaches and others), we are also extremely sensitive to family concerns about children's personal information and safety and are committed to operating a safe and secure environment for everyone. This privacy statement tells you how and why we collect information from you, and how we use that information. Please note that your use of this Site is also subject to the Showcase U Use Agreement (of which this privacy statement is a part) posted on this site.

We will adhere to the following principles in connection with our site:

  • We will never rent or sell your personally identifiable information to third parties for marketing purposes.
  • We will never share your contact information with another user, without your consent.
  • Any sensitive information that you provide will be secured with industry standard protocols and technology.

Please read this privacy policy to learn more about:

  1. What personally identifiable information of yours is collected by Showcase U.
  2. How the information is used.
  3. With whom the information may be shared.
  4. How you can access and change your Account information.
  5. What security procedures are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of information collected by Showcase U.
  6. How to contact us.

Information Collection

Registration:
In order to become a Showcase U user, you must first create an account on this web site and chose a password. The type of account that you create will correspond to how you will use Showcase U and your enrollment status. Currently you may enroll as a: Student Athlete; Coach; Recruiter; Scout; Instructor/Evaluator; Facility; College Admissions; Camp; Vendor or Enthusiast/Fan. The type of information we require and the information you have access to generally depends on your type of enrollment (see terms of use for enrollment categories). Typical information collected includes full name, email, mailing address or city/state/zip, telephone number and information about you or your organization indicated by mandatory fields on your registration form.

Profile Information:
Once you have enrolled, you may provide additional information in the Profile section for your enrollment category. Providing additional information beyond what is required at registration is entirely optional, but enables you to better identify yourself and enhance the value of Showcase U.

Information about your Contacts
Showcase U allows you to send and receive private messages with contacts you identify. In order to invite others to connect with you directly in Showcase U, you will enter their names and email addresses. This information will be used by Showcase U to send your invitation including a message that you write. The names and email addresses of people that you invite will be used only to send your invitation and reminders.

You may also choose to manually enter or upload data about your contacts into your private section of our website. All information entered there will only be viewable by you and will not be searchable by others in the Showcase U network without your permission.

All information that you enter or upload about your contacts will be covered by the same terms of this privacy policy as cover your own personally identifiable information.

Cookies & Log Files:
Like most web sites, Showcase U may use cookies and web log files to track site usage. A cookie is a tiny data file which resides on your computer which allows Showcase U to recognize you as a user when you return to our site using the same computer and web browser. Unfortunately, if your browser settings do not allow cookies, you will not be able to use portions of our website. Like the information you enter at registration or in your Profile, cookie and log file data is used to customize your experience on the web site.

One type of cookie we may use, known as a "persistent" cookie, is set once you've logged in to your Showcase U account. The next time you visit the Showcase U web site, the persistent cookie will allow us to recognize you as an existing user so you will not need to log in before using the service. In order to access or change any of your private information (like a credit card number), however, you must log in securely again with your password even if your computer contains your persistent cookie. Additionally, if you log out of the Showcase U site you will need to re-enter your password the next time you visit in order to log in to your account. Another type of cookie, called a "session" cookie, is used to identify a particular visit to the Showcase U site. Session cookies expire after a short time or when you close your web browser.

Due to the communications standards on the Internet, when you visit the Showcase U web site we automatically receive the URL of the site from which you came and the site to which you are going when you leave Showcase U. We also receive the Internet protocol (IP) address of your computer (or the proxy server you use to access the World Wide Web), your computer operating system and type of web browser you are using, as well as the name of your ISP. This information is used to analyze overall trends to help us improve the Showcase U service. The linkage between your IP address and your personally identifiable information is never shared with third-parties without your permission or except when required by law.

Web Beacons:
We may from time to time allow other companies, called ad networks, to serve advertisements to Showcase U users. Ad networks include third party ad servers, ad agencies, ad technology vendors and research firms. Showcase U may "target" some ads to users that fit a certain general profile, however, Showcase U will NOT use personally identifiable information to target ads.

To deliver these ads properly, Showcase U may include a file, called a web beacon, from these ad networks within pages served by Showcase U so the networks may provide anonymized, aggregated auditing, research and reporting for advertisers as well as to target ads to you while you visit other websites.

Because your web browser must request these advertisements and web beacons from the ad network's servers, these companies can view, edit or set their own cookies, just as if you had requested a web page from their site.

These general targets may also be used by ad networks to display targeted ads on other websites as a substitute for random, irrelevant ads. You will never see additional ads as a result of being a Showcase U user and Showcase U never provides personally identifiable information to any advertiser nor any third party.

Children:
Although our site is directed primarily at high school students, we understand that children under the age of 13 may be interested in materials accessible from our site. At the present time, children under 13 may not create a profile on our site. We will evaluate in the future whether to allow younger children to create a profile on our site. Children under 13 will have access (like all members of the public) to the general portions of our site.

Information Use

Showcase U is an online service dedicated to creating a forum where high school athletes can increase their opportunity to be recruited by colleges and pro scouts. The personally identifiable information you choose to provide on this site is used to help you describe yourself to other users. Other information, that does not personally identify you as an individual, is collected by Showcase U Sports, Inc. from the site (such as, by way of example, patterns of utilization) and is exclusively owned by Showcase U. This information can be utilized by Showcase U in such manner as Showcase U, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate.

Showcase U Communications:
Showcase U will communicate with you through email and notices posted on this website. These include welcome emails which help inform new users about various features of the service. Please be aware that you will always receive certain emails from Showcase U related to the proper functioning of your account, such as email notices when another user requests to contact you.

Customized Content:
Information you provide at registration or in your Profile section is also used to customize your experience on the web site. For example, when you login to your account we will display the screen names of new users who have recently joined your network.

Information Sharing

Sharing Information With Third Parties:
Showcase U takes the privacy of our users very seriously. We will never sell, rent, or otherwise provide your personally identifiable information to any third parties for marketing purposes. We will only share your personally identifiable information with third parties to carry out your instructions and to provide specific services. For instance, we use a credit card processing company to bill users for subscription fees. These third parties do not retain, share, or store any personally identifiable information except to provide these services and are bound by strict confidentiality agreements which limit their use of such information.

Showcase U offers a "public profile" feature which allows users to publish portions of their Showcase U profile, including your "name", but not your "email address" to the public Internet. Showcase U does not warrant how third-party search engines will update their cache.

We may provide aggregated data about the usage of our services to third-parties for such purposes as we deem, in our sole discretion, to be appropriate.

Partnering with Other Organizations to Offer Combined Services:
Showcase U partners with other online services to give you the combined results of both services. Whenever we offer such combined services it will be your choice whether to make use of the combined services. In these cases, your personally identifiable information will only be passed from Showcase U to the partner if you choose to use the combined service.

Communications Between Users:
Using Showcase U you may initiate communications with other users. Your contact information will only be shared with other users if both of you have indicated that you would like to be in contact with one another.

Credit Card Information

In order to access paid subscriber portions of our website, you will be required to submit credit card information. This information is provided directly to our credit card processing company. We do not have access to your personal credit card information.

External Links

Occasionally, you will find links from our website to independently owned, controlled, and/or managed websites whose content we believe will be of possible interest and value to our subscribers and visitors. Additionally, you may from time to time see links from advertisers, sponsors, and other partners who may use logos as part of a co-branding agreement.

In many cases, these links represent cooperative projects or mutual links established with the organizations connected with these sites. We don't control the content of these links. These other sites may send you their own cookies, collect data, or solicit personal information. While we identify sponsor and advertiser areas of our websites, we do not control these cookies or the content of these third parties. We may from time to time partner with other companies to provide certain services. In some cases, you may see our logos on another company's site. We do not share any of your personally identifiable information with these partners and they do not share any information with us. Once you leave our servers (you can generally tell where you are by checking the URL in the location bar on your browser), the use of any information you provide is governed by the privacy policy of the operator of the site you are visiting. That policy may differ from ours. If you can't find the privacy policy of any of these sites via a link from that site's Home page, you should contact the site directly for more information.

Other Information Sharing:
We may share personal information about you in the following circumstances: (a) in response to subpoenas, court orders or legal process, to the extent permitted and as restricted by law, including to exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims; (b) when disclosure is required to maintain the security and integrity of this site, or to protect any user's security or the security of other persons, consistent with applicable laws; (c) when disclosure is directed or consented to by the registered member who has inputted the personal information; (d) in the event that we or any of our subdivisions or units goes through a business transition, such as a merger, divestiture, acquisition, liquidation or sale of all or a portion of its assets, your personal information will, in most instances, be part of the assets transferred; or (e) in limited circumstances, we may disclose your email address in order to comply with laws and regulations, including the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM of 2003).

Accessing and Changing Your Account Information

You can review the personal information you provided us and make any desired changes to the information, or to the settings for your Showcase U account, at any time by logging in to your account on the Showcase U website and editing the information on your Profile page. You can also close your account through the Showcase U website. If you close your Showcase U account, we will remove your name and other personally identifiable information from our publicly viewable data. We may retain certain data contributed by you if it may be necessary to prevent fraud or future abuse, or for legitimate business purposes, such as analysis of aggregated, non-personally-identifiable data, account recovery, or if required by law. All retained data will continue to be subject to the terms of the Showcase U Privacy Policy that you have previously agreed to. To request that we close your account and remove your information from the Showcase U service, please send your request to customerservice@showcaseu.com. Please send your request using an email account that you have registered with Showcase U under your name.

Chat rooms and Public Forums

We may make chat rooms, forums, message boards, web pages, and/or news groups available to our users. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information. Consequently, you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.

Security

We have security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. Essentially, we encrypt all transmission of sensitive data and secure all of our repositories of data. When you use your credit card to enroll or for other offerings at our websites, your transaction is secure. Our servers use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), an advanced encryption technology that works with common web browsers. This technology safeguards your personal information and privacy. However, you should understand that "perfect security" is never guaranteed.

Contacting Us

If you have any questions about this privacy statement, our practices, our you dealings with us, or to opt-out of receiving communication from us at any time, please: