Below, see the schedule of the 2012 Special Award recipient feature stories which will be written by CoSIDA members throughout the spring. The full slate of 2012 Special Awards was announced March 2. All awards will be presented during the 2012 CoSIDA Convention in St. Louis (June 23-26).
• Individual feature story schedule for 2012 Special Awards
• CoSIDA St. Louis Convention awards presentation schedule
DePauw's Bill Wagner to receive CoSIDA 25-Year Award
by Larry Happel, Central College
Stevie Baker-Watson has only been at DePauw University (Ind.) for a couple of months. Turns out, that’s more than enough time for the new athletic director to figure out that the Tigers have a superstar in sports information director Bill Wagner.
“Bill is tremendously dedicated,” Baker-Watson says. “He is passionate about his work. Everything he does, he wants to make the best, so that it represents the institution well and the student-athlete well.”
Wagner is receiving his 25-year award at the St. Louis CoSIDA convention in June.
He’s not the kind of star likely to be seen chest-bumping on the sidelines. His quiet intensity, calm demeanor and dry sense of humor are a perfect fit for the exhausting, high-stress endurance challenge known as sports information.
“He’s around more than he should be,” Baker-Watson says. “But that’s because whatever’s he’s doing, he wants to do right. He doesn’t take it lightly.”
The respect Wagner receives extends far beyond the city limits of Greencastle, Ind., where he resides with his wife, Shelly, and their twin children, Nadia and John.
A member of the CoSIDA board of directors from 2005-08, Wagner became the founding president of D3SIDA (Division III SID management group) in 2008, leading the new organization for three years, despite only signing on for a two-year term. He remains a member of the D3SIDA board. Since 2002, Wagner has worked as a district coordinator for the Capital One Academic All-America® program.
In fact, some of Wagner’s highest praise comes from the campus of rival Wabash College (Ind.), where Brent Harris is director of sports information and marketing and has worked with Wagner for 20 years.
“His professionalism and passion for our business is second to none,” Harris says. “His selection as the first president of DIII-SIDA and as a member of the CoSIDA board shows the respect and admiration others have for him.”
A Tiffin, Ohio native, Wagner earned a bachelor of science in business administration with a major in marketing and an emphasis on advertising and marketing research from Miami University in 1985 before obtaining a master of arts in sport management from The Ohio State University in 1986. He worked in the sports information offices at both schools.
Wagner also worked in sales for the Cleveland Cavaliers professional basketball team.
At DePauw, Wagner is responsible for external communications and publicity for a 23-sport program, including the athletics website.
Wagner has served as a host media coordinator for more than 30 NCAA events including the 2001 Division III Men's Tennis Championships and the 2003 and 2010 Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Among Wagner’s many publications awards are "Best in the Nation" citations for two football media guides and for the cover of another, as well as two second-place awards. Eight football guides were ranked among the top five, as well as three men's basketball guides. During his tenure, DePauw athletes have received CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors 27 times.
He served as a venue media director at the 10th Pan American Games in Indianapolis in 1987 and assisted with media relations at the 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Final Four in Indianapolis and the 1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Midwest Regional at the Pontiac Silverdome.
“Bill has served as a mentor, as a leader, and most importantly as a friend to the many students, athletes, coaches and SIDs he has worked with over the years,” Harris says. “He has and continues to represent the best that our profession offers.”
Individual recipient feature story schedule for 2012 Special Awards
General 2012 Special Awards release
March
Mon., 5: Kim Wenger (Centennial Conference): Rising Star Award (College Division) – by Ann King (The Sage Colleges)
Wed, 7: Malcolm Moran: Jake Wade Award: by Joe Hornstein, CoSIDA 2nd Vice President
Fri., 9: Maurice Williams (Hampton University): Rising Star Award (University Division) – by Ed Hill, Jr. (Howard University)
Mon. 12: Bernie Cafarelli (Notre Dame): 25-Year Award - by Debbie White (Old Dominion)
Wed. 14: Peter Schlehr (Towson University): Lifetime Achievement Award – by Ann King (The Sage Colleges)
Fri. 16: Debbie Copp (University of Oklahoma): CoSIDA Hall of Fame - by Ann King (The Sage Colleges)
Mon. 19: Chuck Sadowski (University of Bridgeport): 25-Year Award - by Ann King (The Sage Colleges)
Wed. 21: Bob Condron (USOC): Lifetime Achievement Award and Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award - by Mike Mahon, former Drake & South Dakota SID
Fri. 23: Jack Neumann (University of Calgary): Warren Berg Award - by Paul Carson, former University of Toronto SID
Mon. 26: John Lewandowki (Michigan State): 25-Year Award - by Jamie Weir-Baldwin (Michigan State)
Wed. 28: Kennan Timm (Wisconsin-Oshkosh): CoSIDA Hall of Fame - by Tim Peterman (UW-Eau Claire)
April
Mon., 2: Tom Di Camillo (Pac West Conference, Central Arizona College): CoSIDA Hall of Fame - by Dan Drutz (Saint Peter's College)
Wed., 4: Dave Wohlhueter (CoSIDA treasurer, Cornell-retired): Lester Jordan Award - by Dan O'Connell (Towson University)
Fri., 6: B.L. Efring (Southern Maine): 25-Year Award - by Sheila Stevenson (Rowan University)
Mon., 9: Lawrence Fan (San Jose State): CoSIDA Hall of Fame and Arch Ward Award - by Jack Neumann (University of Calgary)
Wed., 11: Sue Edson (Syracuse): CoSIDA Hall of Fame - by Larry Dougherty (Temple University)
Fri., 13: Mark Bankert (Malone University): 25-Year Award - by Mike Leggert (Malone University)
Mon., 16: Rich Herman (Clarion): Bob Kenworthy Award - by Bob McComas (Slippery Rock)
Fri. 20: Michael MacEachern (Young Harris College)- 25-Year Award - by Tam Flarup (Wisconsin)
Mon., 23: Shelly Poe (Ohio State): Trailblazer Award - by Jeff Hodges (North Alabama)
Tue., 24: Shirley Jones-Hill (Southern Mississippi): 25-Year Award - by Debbie Davis (Conference USA)
Wed., 25: Joe Dier (Mississippi State): 25-Year Award - by Tammy Boclair (Special Awards Committee; former CoSIDA President)
Fri. 27: Roy Pickerill (Kentucky Wesleyan): 25-Year Award - by Ann King (The Sage Colleges)
Mon., 30: Bob Noss (Wright State): 25-Year Award - by Matt Zircher (Wright State)
May
Wed., 2: Wallace Dooley (formerly of Tennessee State): Lifetime Achievement Award - by Bill Hamilton (South Carolina State)
Fri., 4: Jeff Nelson (Penn State): Bill Esposito Backbone Award - by Bill Little (University of Texas)
Mon., 7: Bill Turnage (Florida Southern): Lifetime Achievement Award - by Tam Flarup (Wisconsin)
Wed., 9: Herb Vincent (LSU): 25-Year Award - by Tammy Boclair (Special Awards Committee; former CoSIDA President)
Fri., 11: Mike Mahon (formerly of Drake & South Dakota): Lifetime Achievement Award - by Jack Neumann, University of Calgary
Tue., 15: Bill Wagner (DePauw): 25-Year Award- by Larry Happel, Central College
Wed., 16: Fred Huff (formerly of Southern Illinois-Carbondale): CoSIDA Hall of Fame [Veteran Award Committee recipient]
Fri., 18: Phil Haddy (University of Iowa): Lifetime Achievement Award
Mon., 21: Dave Geringer (University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth): 25-Year Award
Wed., 23: Charles "Chuck" Prophet (deceased; formerly of Mississippi Valley State): CoSIDA Hall of Fame
Fri., 25: Robert Wilson (Florida State): 25-Year Award
Tue., 29: Dave Fischer (USA Hockey): 25-Year Award
June
Fri., 1: Bud Ford (Tennessee): Lifetime Achievement Award
Mon., 4: Robert McKinney (Willamette University): 25-Year Award
Awards to be presented during CoSIDA St. Louis Convention, St. Louis, Missouri Sunday, June 24: Kickoff Luncheon
Awards presented: 25-Year Awards; Trailblazer, Kenworthy Community Service, Rising Star (University and College Divisions), Keith Jackson honors
Monday, June 25: (two award presentations)
CoSIDA Hall of Fame luncheon
Awards presented: Esposito, Lifetime Achievement, CoSIDA Hall of Fame awards
Capital One Special Awards Gala (dinner/ceremony)
Awards presented: Arch Ward, Warren Berg, Jake Wade, Lester Jordan, Enberg awards; Capital One Academic All-America® Hall of Fame induction