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
Penn State's Jeff Nelson recipient of distinguished Bill Esposito Backbone Award
by Bill Little, University of Texas Special Assistant to Football Coach for Communications
If there were a word to describe Bill Esposito, the late Sports Information Director at St. John’s University, it would be “wisdom.” Though he was only 67 years old when he died in 1995, it seemed as though Bill had been a part of the College Sports Information Directors of America national organization forever.
Workshop after workshop, he would seek out the most comfortable chair in the hotel lobby, and there he would hold court, talking to old friends and first-time attendees - in fact, his audiences comprised darned near everybody who took the time to crack through what might have seemed a stern exterior - all the way to the biggest heart in the business.
In a way, it is a tribute to Bill that his many faces and facets included both compassion and strong will.
And it is fitting that almost 40 years ago, CoSIDA established an award in his name that would reflect both. The award was named for Esposito after he took a stand against publications which carried ads for gambling on college sports, and his life was actually threatened in the mid-1970s.
For years, the limited criteria of the award kept the Bill Esposito Backbone Award in a state of dormancy. Few people in the profession ever faced the unique circumstances defined. But in 2007, following the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, the CoSIDA Special Awards Committee decided to take the award in a direction that members who had known Bill thought he would appreciate. (List of the four previous award winners at the link above.)
Today, the Bill Esposito Award is presented to a “member…who displays sound judgment and unusual courage in guiding their institution through difficult public relations situations.”
And that is why the 2012 award named for Bill Esposito is presented to Jeff Nelson of Penn State.
Arguably, no one in the history of college athletics public relations has faced a more difficult year than Nelson experienced in 2011-12.
A drama played out on the largest of stages, its moments occurred with lightning speed and arduous pain. On October 29, 2011, Penn State’s legendary head coach Joe Paterno became the winningest coach in the history of the game. Less than two weeks later, everything came crumbling down. A scandal over a former assistant coach rocked Happy Valley. The university president and the athletics director were suspended and the president later dismissed. Paterno first announced his pending retirement, and then was dismissed. And all of this happened in the middle of a major college football season which still included games that Nelson’s office handled each week
The rest of the whirlwind next two months would include Paterno’s battle with cancer and subsequent death at 85, the naming of a new coach, and a changing of the guard in the Penn State football office that reflected the inevitable departure of veteran coaches and the arrival of a new staff.
There is no way, even now, to measure the media requests and the scrutiny, that Penn State’s athletics department dealt with. In military terms, Jeff Nelson was the “tip of the spear,” the guy who had to keep going no matter what. Long-time colleagues offered moral support, as Jeff faced challenges none of them had ever even imagined. What those in the profession knew was, Nelson was as good as there was in the business, and he was as well prepared as anyone could have been for the challenge.
Nelson joined the Penn State athletic staff as Sports Information Director in 1993 after six years as Sports Information Director at College of the Holy Cross. He was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director for Communications at Penn State in 2001.
Nelson coordinates the Nittany Lions' communications operation for 29 varsity sports (moving to 31 in 2012-13) while working on a daily basis with the football program. In addition to communications and media relations, he oversees GoPSUsports.com, the official Penn State Athletics website. Nelson also is one of Penn State’s primary contacts with the Big Ten Network and is involved in other TV/radio initiatives for Penn State Athletics.
A native of West Lafayette, Ind., Nelson graduated from Indiana University with a degree in journalism in 1983. After one year as a sportswriter at an Indiana newspaper, he was named assistant SID at Holy Cross in 1985, before his promotion to SID in 1987. At Holy Cross, his 1991 football game programs were honored as "Best in the Nation" by CoSIDA, while the Crusaders' football media guide annually placed among the nation's five-best.
Jeff received CoSIDA’s 25-year Award at the organization’s 2010 Convention, and has been a member of the Academic All-America Committee since 1986. He has served as the national coordinator for the University Division men's basketball and track and field programs. He has served as a member of the NCAA Final Four Media Coordination Committee since 1995 and is on the Board of Visitors for Penn State's Center for Sports Journalism.
Nelson and his wife, Julia, live in State College and have three children.
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
Wed., 9: Herb Vincent (LSU): 25-Year Award
Fri., 11: Mike Mahon (formerly of Drake & South Dakota): Lifetime Achievement Award
Mon., 14: Bill Wagner (DePauw): 25-Year Award
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
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