On Sunday, April 12 during the NAIA National Convention in Charlotte, NC, Saint Xavier University (Ill.) Sports information Directo
r Rob Huizenga was recognized
as the inaugural recipient of the 2014
NAIA Sports Information Director of the Year.
The awards ceremony was held at the Charlotte Westin, site of the annual NAIA conference.
The tribute recognizes Huizenga's outstanding accomplishments in promoting visibility in local and national media, use of social media and contributions to both the conference and NAIA over the past year.
Besides his duties as Saint Xavier's sports information director, Huizenga also serves as an assistant director of athletics in the 17-sport program which competes in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC). He in is his 11th year at SXU. He currently serves as an at-large member on the NAIA-SIDA Board and as a voter for the NAIA National Football Player of the Week award. He is heavily involved in the CCAC and played a vital role in assisting with the conference’s new website.
Huizenga's strategies consistently get SXU recognition in major-market media, including the Chicago-based news outlets. He was
instrumental in having three Cougar student-athletes earn top honors for their respective sport this past year, including Brad Karp, who was named the Capital One College Division Men's Basketball Academic All-America© of the Year for the College Division for the second year in a row. Sisters Megan and Nicole Nonnemacher also received national honors, with Megan claiming the same honor as Karp in softball and Nicole being named the 2014 NAIA National Softball Pitcher of the Year. Women's basketball player Morgan Stuut was also a national finalist for the 2014 and 2015 Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)-NAIA National Player of the Year awards. (Stuut also was named the Capital One Academic All-America of the Year for the College Division in women's basketball this past February and repeated as a WBCA All-American.)
In his SXU tenure, Huizenga has also helped softball player Samantha Eyman claim the 2005 Courageous Female Student-Athlete Giant Steps Award, football placekicker Tom Lynch gain the national Fred Mitchell Award in 2010 and 2011. Additionally, Shane Zackery earn national finalist recognition for the prestigious National Football Foundation's National Scholar-Athlete Award. He was selected the CCAC's SID of the Year for 2013-14.
In addition, Huizenga has had a number of his media guides recognized as "Best in the Nation" by the NAIA, including his combined basketball brochure in both 2004-05 and 2005-06 and his football media guide in both 2011-12 and 2012-13.
When notified this fall about the honor, Huizenga noted that "I have been very fortunate over my 11-year career at Saint Xavier University to work with some amazing and talented student-athletes and coaches and witnessed a number of them earn some pretty impressive national awards. I never imagined that one day I would have my own chance to bring a national award to this University and just for doing the job that I love."
"There are so many people who deserve my thanks for helping me earn this prestigious honor, but, first and foremost, I have to thank my family (wife, Jade, and daughters, Ashlyn, Ivy and Lily) for supporting and standing by me when things get busy and I spend long days, nights and weekends away from home," he added.
"I also want to thank my assistant, Chris Gbur, for his constant efforts in helping SXU Sports Information continue to grow and develop."
See also:
April 12, 2015:
NAIA Awards Luncheon (NAIA.org)
Sept. 16, 2014:
Rob Huizenga Named NAIA Sports Information Director of the Year (SXNews)
June 3, 2014:
SXU's Huizenga Named CCAC Sports Information Director of the Year