Graphic and release courtesy of ECAC-SIDA.org.
Chuck Sadowski, Sports Information Director at the University of Bridgeport, has been named the ECAC-SIDA's 2015 University Division Irving T. Marsh Award recipient. The award is presented annually to one who has exhibited excellence in the field of sports information. The award was first presented in 1966 and is named after Irving Marsh, the ECAC Service Bureau founder and director until his retirement in 1973.
"I'm humbled and honored to be selected by the ECAC-SIDA Board to receive one of the 2015 Irving T. Marsh Service Bureau Awards," said Sadowski. "You look at the list of the previous recipients of this prestigious honor, and it is truly a who's who of our profession. To be selected to join such a group is without question one of the highlights of my career."
A veteran of almost 30 years in the sports information profession, Sadowski was named Director of Sports Information at the University of Bridgeport in late August of 2007. Chuck came to UB after serving as the Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations at the East Coast Conference since September of 2006. Prior to his time in the conference office, Chuck served as the Director of Athletic Media Relations at the University of New Haven from January 2004 to June of 2006.
"I'd like to be one of the first to congratulate Chuck on receiving the Marsh Award," said University of Bridgeport Athletic Director Anthony Vitti. "The ECAC-SIDA Board has made a great choice. Since he arrived on our campus in August of 2007, Chuck has been a tireless worker to promote the University of Bridgeport, its student-athletes and our athletic department. He has the respect of all those he comes in contact with, from the media and his peers to student-athletes and administrators."
Sadowski served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information and Events at Austin College in Sherman, Texas from August of 1996 until January of 2004. He also served as the Director of Sports Information and Scheduling Coordinator at the University of Redlands from December of 1992 through August of 1996 and as the Director of Sports Information at the University of Chicago from February 1987 to December of 1992. Chuck began his career in athletic media relations as the Graduate Assistant SID at New York University in 1985.
An active member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), Sadowski completed a four-year term as an At-Large College Division member of the organization's Board of Directors in the summer of 2006. He also is currently a vice chair of the organization's Committee on Committees. He has also worked on CoSIDA's Writing Contest and Charity committees. Presently, he also serves as the East Region Representative to DIISIDA.
Chuck has worked in press services at many large events including the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the track cycling and boxing venues at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York City and the 2000 USA Olympic Track Cycling Trials in Frisco, Texas. He has also helped staff the 1997 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship plus several NCAA men's and women's basketball regionals, including the 2007-11 NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass.
"Working in a profession that is my passion for nearly 30 years, this award came as a total surprise," added Sadowski. "I simply strive each day to do a good job and treat all those I come in contact with from student-athletes, coaches, administrators, media members and fellow sports information professionals with the utmost respect and receiving the Marsh Award makes me feel appreciated for doing what I love to do, and that's a great feeling."
After honoring one person from 1966 through 1990, the Irving T. Marsh Service Bureau Award was expanded to its present format in 1991, in which one recipient from the University Division (Division I or II) and one recipient from the College Division (Division III, NAIA or Junior College) are recognized annually. Sadowski will be presented his award at the annual ECAC-SIDA awards dinner held on Thursday, June 4th at the Sea Crest Resort in North Falmouth, Massachusetts.
A 1984 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Honors in French and a concentration in European Studies, Sadowski also received a Master's Degree in French Studies in 1987 from New York University. He resides in West Haven, Conn with his wife, Lisa, and daughter Laura, and son, Sam.
Among the past University Division Marsh Award winners are Jack Grinold of Northeastern University (1979), Andy Dougherty of Saint Joseph's University (1982), former CoSIDA president Ed Carpenter of Boston University (1991), Kathy Slattery of Dartmouth College (1997), Bill Jones of Skidmore College (2004), former CoSIDA president Larry Dougherty of Temple University (2011) and Tom McGuire of Bloomsburg University (2014).
A complete list of Irving T. Marsh Award winners is available at
www.ecacsida.org/marsh.
Established in 1955, the Eastern College Athletic Conference-Sports Information Directors Association provides support for the sports information directors of the many schools affiliated with the ECAC. Membership is open to all sports information directors, conference information directors, public relations directors, athletic communicators and corporations that have a vested interest in the welfare of the organization. ECAC-SIDA is one of the nation's largest sports information director associations, with member colleges and universities ranging from Maine to North Carolina in Divisions I, II and III as well as NAIA institutions and junior colleges.