Information courtesy of NAIA.org, College of Idaho and Missouri Baptist; images courtesy of College of Idaho (Safford) and Missouri Baptist (Cygan)
On Tuesday, Sept. 15, the The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the association’s highest individual honors in a video presentation (
WATCH HERE) as part of the inaugural NAIA National Awards Day. Awards recognized achievements of NAIA student-athletes, administrators and coaches and the inductees to the 2015-16 NAIA Hall of Fame Class also were announced.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced Tuesday that
Mike Safford Jr.,
longtime College of Idaho Director of Athletic Communications, is the recipient of the 2016 Clarence "Ike" Pearson Award.
The honor is named for the former statistical crew chief for the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship and is given annually to an outstanding NAIA communications and sports information director. The award, in its 40th year, will be presented to Safford on Divisional Day next June at the College Sports Information Directors Association Convention in Dallas, Texas.
Additionally,
Brad Cygan, Sports Information Director at Missouri Baptist University, was selected as the NAIA Sports Information Director of the Year.Each affiliated conference and the Association of Independent Institutions nominate one sports information director based on accomplishments during the previous year in the areas of athletics communication, sports information, promotion and service to the NAIA. This is the second time this award has been presented.
Cygan will be formally presented with the award on April 18, 2016, at the NAIA Awards Luncheon in Kansas City, Mo.
Read more about the awards for Safford
HERE and for Cygan
HERE.
More on Safford
"I am humbled beyond words," Safford said upon notification that he was the Pearson Award recipient. "It's the NAIA SID Hall of Fame. Those who have won the Ike Pearson Award are the who's-who of NAIA SID's, they are the men and women who I have looked up to since I got into the profession nearly 20 years ago and to be recognized alongside them is truly amazing."
Safford has been with the College of Idaho for 14 years. Until the fall of 2014, hee was the sole person responsible for covering the 17 varsity sports at the College of Idaho.
The four-time Mike Booth Cascade Conference Sports Information Director of the Year award w
inner has been
involved at the conference and national levels for years. He served four years as chair of the CCC SID's; served three years as a member of the CoSIDA College Division Management Advisory Committee; and has begun a two-year term as an at-large representative on the NAIA-SIDA Board of Directors. He also has earned numerous national publication awards from both CoSIDA and the NAIA.
Dr. Marv Henberg, former College of Idaho president, noted that "There could not be a better, more upbeat person than Mike Safford. Overwork can make many grouches of many of us, but not Mike. He always has a good word and a smile for everyone he meets. It is obvious that he loves what he does. It is equally obvious that he loves doing it well."
"I often refer to Mike as the "Magician" for his ability to handle so many SID tasks at one time," said Rob Cashell, CCC Commissioner. He is a trusted and relied upon veteran in the CCC. His colleagues respect his work, opinions and continually look to him for best practices. Mike Safford is a wonderful example of what is right in college athletics administration."
In 2003, Safford created the first CCC SID Manual, a document that is now a standard for athletic communicators in multiple conferences throughout the Northwest. The native of Puyallup, Wash., has served as the Voice of the Coyotes since 2001, serving as the radio and online broadcaster of C of I baseball, basketball, volleyball and softball, while hosting the weekly football radio coaches' show since its inception in 2013.
More on Cygan
Cygan had received an automatic nomination for the award, along with 15 other conference sports information directors, after being named the 2014-15 American Midwest Conference Sports Information Director of the Year.
During the past four years, the overall footprint of MBU Athletics has grown significantly, due mainly to Cygan's efforts and his established media contacts. Missouri Baptist has had outstandin
g coverage in the St. Louis market.
In addition, Cyan initiated the creation of the Spartan Digital Network, a live streaming service. Due to his highly successful writing and communication, the Missouri Baptist faculty invited Brad to teach Sport Communication, beginning this spring.
"Since joining MBU in 2011, Brad's contribution to promoting Spartan Athletics both internally and throughout the community cannot be overstated," said Missouri Baptist Director of Athletics Dr. Tom Smith. "Even in the midst of the mega-sports market in St. Louis, Brad has been able to gain local attention on multiple occasions by building relationships with local media personnel, and providing media outlets with great special interest reporting and stories."
"We could not be more proud of Brad," said Senior Vice President for Student Development and Associate Provost
Dr. Andy Chambers. "From his first day at MBU, Brad Cygan pursued telling the story of Spartan athletics with a passion and excellence, and the results speak for themselves."
Cygan was also an integral part of MBU successfully hosting the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) National Championship in 2014 and 2015, as well as the NAIA Men's Volleyball National Invitational in 2015. He also assisted at the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship and served as an assistant media coordinator for the event.
"Brad is a constant professional that is always working for the betterment of the NAIA, American Midwest Conference and Missouri Baptist," said Alan Grosbach NAIA manager of communications and sports information. "He's a positive individual that is not afraid to go the extra mile when it comes to Missouri Baptist. When you're working with Brad, you know the result will be high-quality."
Cygan also has received national publications and writing honors from the NAIA. In addition to his work at Missouri Baptist, Cygan serves as the NAIA-SIDA Branding Committee Chairman.
The NAIA Clarence "Ike" Pearson Award
The Clarence “Ike” Pearson Award is given annually to a member of the NAIA Sports Information Directors Association (NAIA-SIDA) to honor outstanding contributions to the profession. The award is named for the former statistical crew chief of the NAIA men’s basketball national championship in Kansas City, Mo. It was first given in 1977.
Safford's legacy joins an impressive list of former winners that include:
Melvin Schreves, Elon College (N.C.);
Gene Warren, Pembroke State University (N.C.);
Stan Green, Harding University (Ark.);
Don Briggs, University of Nebraska-Kearney;
Dr. D.L. Ligon, Midwestern State University (Texas);
Fred Nuesch, Texas A&I University;
Andy Solomon, Winthrop University (S.C.);
Kevin Keys, Liberty Baptist College (Va.);
Tim Petermann, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire;
Mac Sisson, Ouachita Baptist University (Ark.);
Gary Spitler, Pembroke State University (N.C.);
Walt McAlexander, Lubbock Christian University (Texas);
Larry Smith, Arkansas Tech University;
Larry Scott, Minnesota State University-Moorhead;
Bobby Hall, Wayland Baptist University (Texas);
Reed Richmond, Tarleton State University (Texas);
Paul Madison, Western Washington University;
Jerry Hanson, Briar Cliff College (Iowa);
Bill Boote, Northwestern College (Iowa);
Bob Guptill, Central Washington University;
Gary Pine, Azusa Pacific University (Calif.);
Mark Bankert, Malone College (Ohio).
Also:
David Fillmore, Evangel College (Mo.);
Mark Womack, Cedarville College (Ohio);
Russ Blunck, Western Oregon University;
Ray Fink, Oklahoma Baptist University;
Ken Isaak, Fresno Pacific University (Calif.);
Jeff Raymond, Westmont College (Calif.);
Scott Cummings, McKendree University (Ill.);
Sam Ghrist, Eastern Oregon University;
A. John Pearson, Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference;
Dave Parsons, Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio);
Candy Sullinger, College of the Ozarks (Mo.);
Jay Stancil, Union College (Ky.);
Michael MacEachern, SCAD Savannah (Ga.);
Steven Aldridge, Union University (Tenn.);
Steve Wilson, Park University (Mo.);
Jared Bodammer, Briar Cliff University (Iowa); and most recently,
Chris Wells, Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.).