This profile (below) on 2011 Hall of Fame inductee
Mark Beckenbach, Ohio Wesleyan Sports Information Director, is the 14th in a series of profiles and features on CoSIDA's 2011 Special Awards recipients. In addition to his numerous duties on-campus and for the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), Beckenbach serves as Co-Chair of CoSIDA's Academic All-America® Committee which helps oversee CoSIDA's signature program which is sponsored by Capital One.
by Bret Billhardt, the Assistant to the Executive Director of the North Coast Athletic Conference
Reprinted with permission from NCAC
CLEVELAND, OH - In a profession where the turnover rate is extremely high, Ohio Wesleyan University Sports Information Director Mark Beckenbach has proven that longevity and stability does exist.
Beckenbach, who has been the SID at Ohio Wesleyan since 1984, recently was selected for induction into the College Sports Information Directors of America’s (CoSIDA) Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place during CoSIDA’s annual national workshop during the Hall of Fame Gala on Tuesday, June 28 at the Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort in Marco Island, Fla.
When Beckenbach was a freshman in college in 1978, very few NCAA Division III colleges and universities had established sports information departments in place. However, Beckenbach did not let this stop him from pursuing the profession as he, along with six to eight other OWU students, operated a student-run SID department on the Delaware, Ohio, campus.
Thirty-three years later, you can still spot Beckenbach front and center at most, if not all, Ohio Wesleyan home athletic events.
At its roots, and in an age where the Internet was just beginning to take shape, the sports information field was performed at the Division III level as a means to compile and track statistics as well as to write and distribute pre- and post-game press releases to local media outlets.
Beckenbach’s career aspirations began to develop during his junior year at OWU as he was promoted to Student Sports Information Director. Along with the everyday rigors that college students experience, he was spending his free time, which most students often utilize for fun and recreation, managing and operating the university’s student-run sports information department.
“To have passion, to have a dream and to have a purpose in life for many people is rare. Mark Beckenbach’s passion is OWU athletics and he has dedicated his life to the coaches and student-athletes of Ohio Wesleyan University,” said Roger Ingles, current OWU athletic director and former head baseball coach. “We are eternally thankful for the high level of professionalism and expertise Mark brings to his position. We are thrilled to see him recognized by CoSIDA in this manner.”
Following graduation, he stepped away from OWU for a brief two-year stint as the Sports Information Director at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., but returned to Delaware in the fall of 1984 and accepted the full-time position as Sports Information Director at OWU.
Since his arrival back on campus 27 years ago, he has been responsible for the publicity of OWU’s 23 intercollegiate athletic teams, performing the everyday tasks that are demanded by an institution’s SID, including writing and distributing press releases, historical research, media guide production, compiling in-game statistics, archiving statistics, press box management, etc., etc., etc.
“Mark has been known to wear many hats at Ohio Wesleyan and the coaches and administration appreciate his continued diligence and dedication to his profession and in keeping Ohio Wesleyan athletics in the forefront of Division III sports news,” expressed Cyndi Holliday, the 17-year OWU volleyball coach and senior woman administrator.
The longtime SID has literally witnessed the profession change before his eyes. No longer are stats complied via paper and pencil, but rather with advanced computerized software. And, the days of faxing and mailing press releases to the local media outlets have since dissipated as a simple click of the computer mouse can now have real-time information sent to the media or posted on the internet in a matter of seconds.
As well as putting in more than 30 years of service at OWU, he is also the senior SID in the North Coast Athletic Conference and is one of very few individuals who have been actively involved with the NCAC since its creation in the 1984-85 academic year. In 1997, he helped develop the NCAC SID Association (NCAC-SIDA) and has served as the President of the organization since 1999. Beckenbach has assisted the conference in numerous avenues throughout his career, including maintaining and updating NCAC historical records.
“Mark has been a leader amongst NCAC sports information directors since the conference began,” commented Keri Alexander Luchowski, the Acting Executive Director of the NCAC. “He is a valuable resource both to his colleagues and to the Conference as a whole. This honor is richly deserved and we are thrilled for Mark.”
Beckenbach also has extended his reach into the field far past just the campus of Ohio Wesleyan and the NCAC as he continues to serve on numerous national committees and panels.
Most notably, he has served on the CoSIDA Academic All-America Committee since 1990 and was recently named the Committee Co-Chair during the 2010-11 academic year, after serving terms as associate chair (2007-11), vice chair (1999-2006), national coordinator (1994-99) and district coordinator (1990-94).
“For close to 30 years, Mark Beckenbach has been one of the finest sports information directors in Ohio and in small college athletics,” stated Baldwin-Wallace College SID and fellow CoSIDA Hall of Fame member, Kevin Ruple. “His efforts as an SID, innovator and leader in CoSIDA’s Academic All-America program have been invaluable to the sports information profession and to small college athletics in the state of Ohio and the Great Lakes Region. As a member of the CoSIDA Hall of Fame, I am pleased to welcome Mark to the group. His talents and efforts make him a more than worthy recipient of this honor.”
Beckenbach also devoted his time to service on a pair of football All-America selection committees earlier in his career, including serving the Football Gazette (1992-2004) and the Champion Division III SIDs (1998-2003).
His service, hard work and dedication to the industry has not gone unnoticed from his colleagues as he has collected numerous individual and lifetime achievement awards throughout his career.
CoSIDA, which annually awards SIDs for their work on athletic department publications, has recognized 60 of Beckenbach’s pieces with a publication award, including 16 Best in Nation Media Guide honors in men’s lacrosse (1991, 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2001), baseball (1991, 1992, 1993 and 1996), men’s golf (1991, 1992, 1993 and 1995), men’s soccer (1991), women’s soccer (1993) and women’s lacrosse (2001). In addition, he has also earned four Best In Nation Media Guide Cover awards in men’s golf (1992 and 2008), men’s lacrosse (1990) and Football (2009).
Along with the prestigious distinction of being a member of this year’s CoSIDA Hall of Fame class, he was also awarded the Lester Jordan Award in 2006 for his service to the Academic All-America program, and was presented with the CoSIDA 25-year service award in 2008. The Lester Jordan Award is named after the founder of the CoSIDA Academic All-America program and the longtime Southern Methodist University SID.
“On behalf of the conference’s SIDs past and present, I would like to congratulate Mark on this richly-deserved honor,” said Hugh Howard, current SID at the College of Wooster. “From operating a one-man sports information shop at Ohio Wesleyan for almost 30 years, to serving as the NCAC’s record keeper, to his committee work for the CoSIDA Academic All-America program, Mark has made a tremendous impact on this profession. He performs all of the various sports information duties at a very high level, but more importantly, he does so with a friendly, outgoing presence toward his peers.”
So, the next time you attend an athletic event at Ohio Wesleyan University, be sure to stop by the press box or scorer’s table and thank Beckenbach for his continued support and dedication to not only Ohio Wesleyan University athletics, but also Division III athletics as a whole.
See link to original release and the March/April schedule of the Special Award profiles/features, below.
THE CoSIDA SPECIAL AWARDS FEATURES SERIES
March
Tue. 1 Special Awards general announcement
Thr. 3 Capital One Academic All-America Hall of Fame release
Thr. 3 Ann King (The Sage Colleges): 25-Year Award
Tue. 8 Kent Cherrington (Plymouth State University): 25-year Award
Thr. 10 Justin Doherty (University of Wisconsin): Arch Ward Award
Tue. 15 Rob Knox (Kutztown University): Rising Star Award (College Division)
Thr. 17 Jim Daves (University of Virginia): 25-Year Award
Tue. 22 Diane Nordstrom (University of Wisconsin): 25-Year Award
Thr. 24 Chevonne Mansfield (SWAC): Rising Star Award (University Division)
Tue. 29 Dr. Bill Smith (University of Arkansas): Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award
Thr. 31 Kevin Ruple (Baldwin-Wallace College): Lester Jordan Award
April
Tue. 5 Rich Herman (Clarion): CoSIDA Hall of Fame & Warren Berg Award
Thr. 7 Paul Madison (Western Washington): CoSIDA Hall of Fame
Tue. 12 Charles Bloom (Southeastern Conference): CoSIDA Hall of Fame
Thr. 14 Thomas Nelson (St. Cloud State University): 25-Year Award
Thr. 21 Mark Beckenbach (Ohio Northern): CoSIDA Hall of Fame
Tue. 26 Brian DePasquale (University of Albany): 25-Year Award
Thr. 28 Debby Jennings (University of Tennessee): Trailblazer Award
May
Tue. 3 Walt Riddle (Saint Leo University): Lifetime Achievement Award; and 25-Year Award
Fri. 6 Tom Kroeschell (Iowa State): 25-Year Award
Tue. 10 Mike Moran (USOC); Lifetime Achievement Award
Thr. 12 Joe Seil (Nazareth): 25-Year Award
Tue. 17 A. John Pearson (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference): Lifetime Achievement Award
Thr. 19 David Moross (Colorado College): 25-Year Award
Tue. 24 Dan McDonald (Northwestern State [La.] and Southwestern Louisiana: CoSIDA Hall of Fame
Thr. 26 Dave Beyer (Mercer University): 25-Year Award
Tue. 31 Lee Corso (ABC/ESPN Sports): Jade Wade Award
other profiles in the schedule to be announced; schedule subject to change