April Emory Earns CoSIDA’s 2009 College Division Rising Star Award
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – April Emory, who recently completed her eighth year as Sports Information Director at Elizabeth City State University, has been named the recipient of the 2009 College Division Rising Star Award by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The award is presented to a College Division member with 10 years of service or less whose work at their institution and service, dedication; energy and enthusiasm to the profession make that individual a “rising star” in sports information.
Emory began her career with a two-year stint as Sports Information Director at Saint Paul's College prior to moving to ECSU in 2002. A member of the CoSIDA Board of Directors as the College Division representative, Emory also is a member of F.A.M.E. and the Black College Sports Information Directors' Association.
Emory's spirit, compassion and work ethic have served to make her a strong role model and mentor for younger SIDs. A consummate professional, she has promoted numerous All-Americans, successfully placing several of her athletes in Sports Illustrated's popular “Faces in the crowd” feature.
As a student at St. Paul’s, her potential was so evident that Saint Paul’s hired her as its SID upon graduation in the summer of 1999. While at Saint Paul’s she quickly learned the inner workings of the athletic department and was given day-to-day oversight for the game day management of all sports. As a freshman, she was handed the responsibility of the basketball media guide and got her first taste the promoting of a student-athlete while working with three-time basketball All-American Antwain Smith, who was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the second round of the 1999 NBA draft.
During her stint as the first female SID at Elizabeth City State, she has been responsible for the promotion of 15 intercollegiate sports. In 2005 she was instrumental in the launching of the school’s first athletic website. While at ECSU, she has been responsible for the promotion of several All-Americans, including the 2008 Division II Women’s National Player of the Year, Celeste Trahan-Davis.
Emory has been a trailblazer as the first female President of the CIAA-Sports Information Directors Association (2005-2009) and holds the distinction as the first African-American female to sit on the CoSIDA Board of Directors (2005-present). Additionally, she was recognized by her peers as the 2006-07 CIAA Sports Information Director of the Year. She has previously been awarded a Citation for Excellence in Writing by CoSIDA and has served as the press room coordinator for the CIAA Basketball Tournament (third-largest tournament in the country) since 2000. Emory has already helped guide two of her former student assistants within the profession, one as a former head SID at her alma mater and the other as sports information graduate assistant.
She is currently the President of the CIAA's Sports Information Directors Association, having served in that post since 2005.
Past College Division Rising Star Award Recipients
2008 Cindy Fotti (Columbia College, Mo.)
2007 Jim Strick (Wisconsin-Stevens Point)
2006 Jason Fein (College of Staten Island)