The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) have selected Washington State's Rod Commons, University of Wisconsin's Tamara Flarup and the University of Rochester's Dennis O'Donnell as the 2007 inductees into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame.
The three will be inducted on July 3 during the organization's 50th anniversary celebration taking place at its annual national workshop which this year is in San Diego.
ROD COMMONS, WASHINGTON STATE
Rod Commons has been active in the sports information profession for over 40 years. He began his career at Oregon State in 1966, first as a part-time assistant and later full-time from 1968-73. He changed coasts serving as the sports information director at Brown University three years before joining the staff at Washington State in 1976, where he has been for 31 years.
The "dean" of the Pac-10 sports information directors, he has served in many capacities on CoSIDA committees and workshop panels including the committee on committees, gambling awareness, and post-graduate scholarship committees. He became a member of the CoSIDA Board and later its officer rotation culminating with his presidency from 2004-05. Along the way he has picked up numerous publications awards, served several years on the National Collegiate Basketball Writers Executive Committee including its president in three years, and mentored a large number of sports information assistants.
TAM FLARUP, WISCONSIN
Flarup becomes just the seventh woman inducted into CoSIDA's Hall of Fame. She will celebrate her 30th year of membership in CoSIDA at the workshop this summer, all of those years served at the University of Wisconsin. The former UW Director of Women's Sports Information for 24 years, Flarup changed roles in 2001 to become Wisconsin's Director of Web Site Services. She also maintains responsibilities in the UW Athletics Communications office as the main sports contact for UW women's basketball, and oversees men's and women's golf communications.
Flarup has played a major role in CoSIDA during her time in the profession. She was a member of the CoSIDA board of directors from 1998-2001, and has served on numerous committees including committee on committees, site selection, computer, publications and special awards.
She founded and chaired the Publicists for Women's Sports Committee in the early 1980s, which encouraged discussion and special attention be given to the then-fledgling women's intercollegiate sports programs.
While on the board she introduced legislation for CoSIDA's Trailblazer Award which recognizes members who have improved the ethnic and gender diversity within CoSIDA. She became the just second woman honored by CoSIDA with a 25-year service award at the workshop in 2001.
She has served as a CoSIDA panelist on numerous occasions, and is a founding member of FAME, the Female Athletics Media Relations Executives group which addresses concerns of women in the sports public relations profession. She has received several "best in the nation" honors for her sports publications, and in 2004 was recognized by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association as the Mel Greenberg Award winner recognizing her contributions nationally to women's intercollegiate basketball. Since 1995, she has served on the NCAA Communications Committee that conducts the media relations at the NCAA Women's Final Four each year.
DENNIS O'DONNELL, ROCHESTER
Dennis O'Donnell has been a member of CoSIDA for 27 years, and is a well-respected participant in ECAC-SIDA as well having earned its Irving T. Marsh award in 2003. The award honors a person who has exhibited excellence in the field of sports information and media relations. He received his 25-year service award from CoSIDA at the 2006 Workshop in Nashville.
O'Donnell began his career at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1974 where he served as sports information director from 1974-78, and again from 1984-88. He has been the director at the University of Rochester from 1988 to present.
A member of the CoSIDA workshop program committee since 1991, O'Donnell has committed thousands of hours to planning and executing the annual CoSIDA workshop. He has served as the vice-president of the workshop program committee since 1997, and was the co-host of the workshop when it was held in Rochester in 2002. He was a member of CoSIDA's Publication Certification Committee in 1987-88 under Bill Esposito, then succeeded Esposito as chair of that committee for three years (1988-91).
He was a member of the CoSIDA board from 2002-05, and has been an invited speaker and moderator of numerous workshop panels both at CoSIDA and the ECAC-SIDA. In 1999, he co-hosted the ECAC-SIDA Workshop in Rochester. O'Donnell has won 11 Publication Awards from CoSIDA, including four Best in the Nation.
He has been married to the former Carol Tepedino since 1981. They have a daughter, Megan, aged 12. Carol was an assistant in Columbia's sports information office from 1985-88, then a volunteer assistant at Rochester until 1995. The O'Donnells volunteered in the Media Centre at the XV FIFA World Cup Soccer Championship at the Meadowlands in 1994.
They created an Americanized-version of game notes which were adopted by all nine venues as the standard.
O'Donnell has worked at eight small college basketball Final Fours, two as a volunteer with Carol and six with Rochester as a participant. He has hosted NCAA competition in seven sports.
He will become the ninth small college SID to be inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame and the eighth member from a New York State college.