Release courtesy of the CoSIDA Scholarship Committee
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced that a record $35,000 will be distributed to the winners of their 2014-15 scholarships and grants on Thursday, June 12.
The amounts of each of its cornerstone postgraduation and undergraduate scholarships and its postgraduate internship grant was increased in 2014-15, while a pair of new CoSIDA Member Child Scholarships were added to the growing CoSIDA Scholarship Program.
CoSIDA Scholarship Committee members chose a pair of $7,500 postgraduate scholarship recipients, two more $3,000 undergraduate scholarship winners, two $1,000 scholarship winners among the children of CoSIDA members, and selected one school to receive a $12,000 graduate internship grant.
The scholarships were formally announced during CoSIDA’s annual workshop in Orlando, June 8-11.
CoSIDA’s two newest scholarships, the
Family Member Scholarships, were awarded to
Grace Neely, a sophomore at the University of
Kentucky, and
Dakota Hawkins, an incoming freshman to Winthrop.
Neely is the daughter of Kentucky Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations Tony Neely. She previously earned a Presidential Scholarship at Kentucky and is a member of the school’s Honors Program. A sports administration major, she carries a 4.0 GPA after graduating with a 4.66 weighted GPA from Lafayette High School in Lexington, Ky., in 2013.
Hawkins, who will be entering his freshman year at Winthrop, is the son of Francis Marion Sports Information Director Michael Hawkins. Dakota, who attended Wilson High School in Florence, S.C., is planning to major in forensics chemistry while participating in men’s soccer at Winthrop.
The Fred Nuesch-Dave Wohlhueter Undergraduate Scholarships and Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grant have been awarded since 1999, when CoSIDA expanded its scholarship program in order to foster interest in the sports information field. Since presenting the fi
rst Wylie Smith Graduate Scholarship in 1981, CoSIDA has provided more than $460,000 in grants to students working in sports information offices at member
institutions and conferences.
To be eligible for either the Postgraduate or Undergraduate Scholarships, candidates must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average and express an interest in pursuing a career in sports information.
Kyle Skene, a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in business administration
at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., earned the
Wylie Smith Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500). Skene, who earned his bachelor’s degree as an accounting major while minoring in mathematics will be a graduate intern in the Millsaps Sports Information Office. He has spent the past two seasons assisting Sports Information Director Dan Griffin as a student in the SID Office. Skene, originally from Littl
eton, Colo., was a three-year starter who earned first-team All-Southern Athletic Association honors as a senior center on the Millsaps football team in 2013. He was a second-team all-conference pick for the Majors as a junior, after claiming honorable-mention all-conference accolades as a sophomore. He was also a member of the SAA All-Sportsmanship Team in 2013. He also served as a resident assistant for two years during his undergraduate career at Millsaps.
The Wylie Smith Postgraduate Scholarship is named in honor of the former CoSIDA Scholarships Committee chairman and long-time Sports Information Director at Northern Arizona University.
Kati Morse of Southeastern Louisiana claimed the
Langston Rogers Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500).
Morse, who earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from Southeastern Louisiana in May of 2013, is pursuing a master’s degree in organizational communication from SLU. In addition to her graduate studies, Morse has been asset to Southeastern Louisiana Athletic Media Relations Office under Director of Sports Information Kemmler Chapple. As a graduate assistant in 2013-14, Morse has handled media relations for the track and field and cross country programs. Morse was a four-year contributor as a pitcher on the Southeastern Louisiana softball team, and earne
d a prestigious Jim McKay Scholarship from the NCAA in 2013. She was also the President of the Southeastern Student-Athlete Advisory Committee
in
2012-13, after serving as Vice-President in 2011-12 and Secretary in 2010-11.
The Langston Rogers Postgraduate Scholarship is named in honor of former Mississippi Sports Information Director and CoSIDA Hall of Famer Langston Rogers, who served as the SID at Ole Miss from 1981 until his retirement in 2010. The scholarship is presented annually to a rising minority or female student.
CoSIDA’s Fred Nuesch Undergraduate Scholarship award ($3,000) was presented to
Mike Mulcahy from the University of New Mexico and the
Dave Wohlheuter Undergraduate Scholarship ($3,000)
was awarded to Kourtney Freiburger from Purdue University.
Mulcahy, a senior journalism and mass communications major from Albuquerque, N.M., calimed the Nuesch Scholarship with a 3.94 at New
Mexico. A Dean’s List member at New Mexico and a National Hispanic Scholar, Mulcahy also has carried a heavy workload as a communications assistant in Frank Mercogliano’s Lobo Athletic Communications Office. Mulcahy has served as the primary track and field and cross country contact for the Lobos since 2011. He also served as the co-media coordinator for the 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Championships.
He was also the host media relations coordinator for the 2012 Mountain West Conference Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships. In 2013-14, Mulcahy alslo served as the secretary for the Eta Kappa Chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, coordinating and participating in community service activities.
Freiburger earned the Wohlheuter Scholarship after compiling a 3.97 GPA as a public relations and strategic communications major at Purdue. The senior from Roanoke, Ind., who has been a member of the Purdue Athletic Communications Office under the direction of Associate Athletic Director Tom Schott since September of 2011, is expected to graduate in May of 2015. Freiburger has played a major role in assisting the
Purdue softball team while providing event support for nearly all of the Boilermakers’ varsity sports. She added experience as an undergraduate intern from April to August of 2013 at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. She also gained experience as a merchandise associate for the Fort Wayne TinCaps minor league baseball team, and has worked as a student in the Purdue U
niversity Office of Admissions.
In addition to the six scholarships, CoSIDA awarded the
2014-15 Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grant ($12,000) to Gallaudet University
and Assistant AD/Sports Information Sam Atkinson.
Atkinson overs 13 NCAA Division III varsity sports, including football, at the nation’s deaf and hard of hearing university. The Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grant provides funds for a sports information office to hire a graduate intern on a one-year basis, hoping the success of the program can help the school demonstrate the need for additional assistance in the future.
All-Time CoSIDA Scholarship Honorees
Postgraduate Scholarship
1981 Craig Bohnert, Evansville
1982 John Lashway, Oregon
1983 Jay Hill, Michigan
1984 Jonathan Dukes, Georgia Southern
1985 Brian Teter, Illinois State
1986 Mark Berger, Ohio
1987 Chris McMurry, Northern Arizona
1988 Angela Hultman, Mankato State
1989 Beth Haag, Iowa State
1990 Stephanie Grimes, Boise State
1991 Lana Bandy, Purdue
1992 Amy Stabley, Central Michigan / Robert Hester, Northern Illinois
1993 Will Roleson, Miami (Ohio)
1994 Randy Hayson, Illinois State
1995 Stuart McFarland, Missouri / Sally Krauss, Western Kentucky
1996 Jeff Griesch, Nebraska
1997 Chris Ambrose, Purdue / Jeff Griesch, Nebraska
1998 Chris Ambrose, Purdue / Brian Gunning, Marshall
1999 Brian Gunning, Marshall / Heidi Roth, Syracuse
2000 Mark Fratto, Maryland / Andy Knappick, Illinois State
2001 Brad Caudill, Eastern Michigan / Susan Seabrook, Alabama-Birmingham
2002 Michelle Kelley, Colgate / Sean Wright, Westminster (Mo.)
2003 Brad Fischer, Wisconsin-La Crosse / Lainie Guiddy, West Virginia
2004 Eric Braley, Northern Iowa / Kristopher Sears, Indiana
2005 Michael Potter, Ball State / Erin Whiteside, Penn State
2006 Chris Yandle, Marshall / Jessica Calderone, Southeast Louisiana
2007 Caroline Domecq, Georgia / Kyle Chilton, Southern Virginia
2008 Jared Verner, Northwest Missouri State / Kendra Lee, Ohio State
2009 Laurie Wild, Northern Iowa / Britney Wright, Florida State
2010 Grant Abston, Texas / Mariel Brady, St. John’s
2011 Andrew Lentz, Tennessee / Britney Reddick, Kutztown
2012 Carli Todd, DePaul / Joelle Milholm, Cal State Bakersfield
2013 Kim Carper, Vanderbilt / Joelle Milholm, Cal State Bakersfield
2014 Kati Morse, Southeastern Louisiana / Kyle Skene, Millsaps
Undergraduate Scholarship
1999 Kate Adams, Iowa State / Michelle La Scola, Northern Illinois / Casey Taylor, Christopher Newport
2000 Daniel Dykstra, Wheaton (Ill.) / Kimberly Frederick, Manhattan / Bobbie Horstman, Iowa State
2001 Bobbie Horstman, Iowa State / Shayla Reiff, Mt. Vernon Nazarene / Dustin Roberts, Oklahoma
2002 Branie Davidson, Northwest Missouri State / Shante Gree, Fayetteville State / Teri LaJeunesse, Michigan Tech
2003 Kimberly Gray Folkes, Virginia Tech / Adam Holtz, Bethany Lutheran / Laura Schoenberger, Pittsburg State
2004 Cassie Chance, Mississippi State / Nick Kiger, Colorado State
2005 John Vogel, Youngstown State / Monique Bowman, Capital University
2006 Todd Zeidler, Bemidji / Amy Robertson, Mississippi State
2007 Caleb Hawley, Oregon State / Christina Marshall, James Madison
2008 Andrew Middleman, Baldwin-Wallace / Kevin Flora, University of the Cumberlands
2009 Carli Todd, Tampa / David Bodman, La Salle
2010 Michael Benson, Southern Illinois-Carbondale / James Rodriguez, Baldwin-Wallace
2011 Adam K. Moussa, Memphis / Erica LaBranche, Stonehill
2012 Jake Faber, Pittsburg State / Ashley Goettl, Wisconsin-River Falls
2013 Casey Bonk, Pittsburgh / Lucy Montgomery, Washington-St. Louis
2014 Mike Mulcahy, New Mexico / Kourtney Freiburger, Purdue
Graduate Internship Grant
1999 Alabama A&M, Wright State
2000 Central Oklahoma, Urbana (Ohio)
2001 Central State (Ohio), Cheyney
2002 Eckerd College, Hardin-Simmons
2003 St. Francis (N.Y.), Tennessee Tech
2004 Carroll College
2005 Wesleyan University
2006 Bellarmine
2007 Central College of Iowa
2008 Grand Canyon University
2009 Lake Erie College
2010 Illinois Wesleyan
2011 Ursinus
2012 DePauw
2013 Chicago State
2014 Gallaudet
Member Child Scholarship
2014 Grace Neely (Kentucky)/Tony Neely (Kentucky) - Dakota Hawkins (Winthrop)/Michael Hawkins (Francis Marion)