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Bob Nygaard, who has served as the sports information director at the University of Minnesota Duluth since 1983, has been selected to receive the Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award from the College Sports Information Directors of America.
He will receive the award on June 30 at the organization's annual workshop Awards Dinner, which this year will be held in Calgary, Alberta.
The Bob Kenworthy Award is given annually to a CoSIDA member for civic involvement and accomplishment outside the sports information office. Kenworthy, the first recipient of the award in 1993, served as the sports information director at Gettysburg College for more than 25 years and actively participated in community and campus affairs.
Nygaard has been involved with a number of organizations and activities in his 20-plus years at UMD. He spearheaded the school's Reading with Champions and Adopt-A-Highway programs, and served as an editorial advisor for the student newspaper for four years.
He is active in his church community, as well as being involved as a volunteer with area Little League programs. Nygaard also accepted a position on the Duluth School Board, and still spends a few hours each month at a local elementary school, reading with students.
Nygaard has been active with Mentor Duluth, a mentoring program in the community. Combining his work as a publicist with his involvement in community service, he hosted a Mentor Appreciation Night during a Bulldogs' hockey game to help improve visibility for the program. The evening for the children and mentors included free admission, parking, concessions and an autograph session with the players on the team.
He has been involved with sending a positive message to the student-athletes at his university, founding the Shjon Podein Community Service Award, which annually recognizes the UMD student-athlete who exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the field, and who has made humanitarian contributions to the Duluth and university communities.
Nygaard has also been active in CoSIDA, being a regular attendee at workshops, as well as moderating Table Topic sessions. For 16 years until 1998, he ran a one-person sports information office, making Minnesota Duluth the lone school with Division I men's hockey to have only one full-time staffer. Recently he was given the added duties in marketing, promotions and event management.