Note: Individual feature articles on each honoree will follow in the coming weeks on
CoSIDA.com and will also appear in upcoming CoSIDA E-Digest (e-mag) editions.
That complete list of feature stories and published dates is found
HERE.
Congratulations to all the 2016 CoSIDA Special Award winners!
by Tam Flarup, University of Wisconsin and Chair of the CoSIDA Special Awards Committee
Nearly 40 members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), along with ESPN’s Rece Davis, will receive national awards for outstanding contributions to the organization at its 49th annual national convention June 12-15 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas. CoSIDA will also induct its 2016 Hall of Fame class at the convention.
CoSIDA is comprised of more than 3,100 intercollegiate athletic communications and media relations professionals from colleges, universities and athletic conferences at all divisions of competition in the United States and Canada.
This is the fourth year the CoSIDA Convention will be held in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) & Affiliates Convention.
In addition to the Hall of Fame, other awards recognize emerging leaders, community service, and lifetime achievement honors.
Another highlight of the convention will be the newest class of the CoSIDA Academic All-America© Hall of Fame, which will be announced in March, and the Dick Enberg Award. A special AAA Hall of Fame ceremony honoring these outstanding former student-athletes will be held on June 13.
The CoSIDA Hall of Fame luncheon takes place on Monday, June 13. The Keith Jackson Eternal Flame, the Jake Wade Media Award and CoSIDA’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipients also will be recognized at the luncheon. The remainder of the awards will be presented at the Special Awards luncheon on Wednesday, June 15.
CoSIDA Hall of Fame Class of 2016
Four current and two former sports communications professionals will be inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame on June 13. This CoSIDA Hall of Fame is presented to members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of college athletic communications.
Members of the 2016 Hall of Fame class are university representatives
Doug Dull, CoSIDA past president and Associate Athletic Director for Communications at American University;
Tim Tessalone, Senior Associate Athletics Director at the University of Southern California; and
Julie Bennett, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications at Baylor University.
College representatives are
Rick Leddy, former Sports Information Director at Southern Connecticut State University; and
Steve McCloskey, the Director of Athletic Operations and Sports Information at Mansfield University.
Nordy Jensen, whose career as a sports information director spanned over 20 years, including stops at the Western Athletic Conference and San Jose State, was selected as a member of the 2016 Hall of Fame class by the Veterans Selection Committee. Jensen was CoSIDA president in 1984-85,
The other five Hall of Famers were selected by a vote of 84 CoSIDA Hall of Famers and the CoSIDA Special Awards Committee.
See the all-time list of CoSIDA Hall of Fame honorees
HERE.
Jake Wade Award
The Jake Wade Award recognizes an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in the media to the field of
intercollegiate athletics. Longtime
ESPN commentator Rece Davis is the recipient of this year's award.
Davis has not only been a friend to CoSIDA through his broadcasting duties, but he is also being recognized for his tremendous work with CoSIDA’s Academic All-America© program in his role as the program spokesman.
Davis, who joined ESPN in 1995, serves as the primary studio host for ESPN and ESPN2’s coverage of college football and college basketball. He is the host of ESPN’s Saturday college football pregame, halftime and postgame studio coverage and College Football Final with analysts Lou Holtz and Mark May. He is also a regular contributor to SportsCenter and ESPN Radio.
Previous Wade Award winners include Verne Lundquist (CBS); Beth Mowins (ESPN); Lee Corso (ABC/ESPN); Christine Brennan (USA Today); Robin Roberts (ABC/ESPN); Dave Anderson (New York Times); and Dick Enberg.
See all
prior Jack Wade Award recipients.
Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award
CoSIDA's distinguished Keith Jackson Award is presented to an individual who, or an organization which, has made a lasting contribution to intercollegiate athletics, and has demonstrated a long and consistent commitment to excellence and has been a loyal supporter of CoSIDA and its mission.
CoSIDA will recognize
Bill Hancock, the Executive Director of the College Football Playoff, with this year’s prestigious award.
Hancock has been a fixture in college athletics for over 45 years and has served in many roles from sports information director at Oklahoma to assistant commissioner of the then-Big Eight Conference. From 1989-2002 he was the Director of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball championship (Final Four), and later served as a media consultant to that championship. In October of 2005, he was named the administrator of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). Hancock was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 2005.
This award is not given annually and is voted upon by the Special Awards committee when there is a worthy candidate for the honor.
Prior recipients, found here, include: Erik Christianson, Managing Director of External Affairs at the NCAA; former Tennessee women's basketball head coach Pat Summit; former NCAA President Myles Brand; ESPN's Dick Vitale; former ESPN senior vice president Rosa Gatti; and legendary awardwinning broadcaster Dick Enberg, the ambassador for CoSIDA's Academic All-America© program. Jackson was the inaugural recipient in 1998.
Lifetime Achievement Awards
In addition, CoSIDA will recognize 11 professionals with its Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is presented to CoSIDA members who have served at least 25 years in the profession (as of June 2016) and are retiring or leaving the profession. The Lifetime Achievement Award honorees are:
•
Julie Bennett, Baylor University
•
Howie Davis, University of Massachusetts and Springfield College
•
Tamara Flarup, Wisconsin
•
Bob Guptill, Great Northwest Athletic Conference
•
Rich Herman, Clarion University
•
Debbie Harmison White, Old Dominion
•
Debby Jennings, University of Tennessee
•
Wally Johnson, St. Lawrence University
•
Bill Little, University of Texas
•
Paul Madison, Western Washington University
•
Kevin Southard, University of Scranton
•
Ed Syguda, Otterbein University
See the
previous LIfetime Achievement Award recipients.
Arch Ward Award
The Arch Ward Award is presented annually to a CoSIDA university member who has made outstanding contributions to the field of college athletic communications, and who, by his or her activities, has brought dignity and prestige to the profession.
Bernadette, “Bernie” Cafarelli, Associate Commissioner with the American Athletic Conference and formerly of Notre Dame, will be recognized with this award. Cafarelli is a long-time member of the Academic All-America© committee now serving as its co-chair. Cafarelli is a 2013 inductee of CoSIDA’s Hall of Fame.
Previous Arch Ward recipients
Warren Berg Award
Immediate CoSIDA past president,
Eric McDowell, Assistant Athletics Director/Sports Information at Union College (N.Y), will
receive the college division equivalent to the Arch Ward as the Warren Berg Award winner. McDowell, a 2009 member of the CoSIDA Hall of Fame, has served CoSIDA in numerous roles as vice chair of the program committee, director of the rookie sessions and as college division chair prior to his CoSIDA board appointment and officer rotation.
Berg Award previous recipients
Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award
Tammy Boclair, just the second woman president of CoSIDA and the former assistant sports information director at Stephen F. Austin, the Southland Conference and Vanderbilt University, will be recognized with the Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award. This honor is presented annually to an individual who is a pioneer in the athletic communications profession and who has mentored and helped improve the level of ethnic and gender diversity within CoSIDA.
Boclair served as CoSIDA president in 2003-04 and has been active on numerous committees including special awards and FAME in addition to the CoSIDA board. She remains an active associate member of CoSIDA from Nashville where she is currently a vice-president with Alday Communications, Inc. Boclair is a 2009 member of the CoSIDA Hall of Fame.
See previous Haverbeck Trailblazer Award recipients
HERE.
Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award
J.D. Hamilton, the assistant director of media coordination and statistics at the NCAA and the NCAA College World Series media coordinator, will be honored for his community service with the Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award, presented annually to a CoSIDA member for civic involvement and accomplishments outside the athletic communications profession.
Hamilton has served as a foster family host in Indianapolis for a total of 17 children since 2011. He is also an elder in his church, and referees in the church’s basketball league. Hamilton was honored in 2013 with the Wilbur Snypp Award by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association for his outstanding contributions to baseball.
Prior Kenworthy award recipients are listed
HERE.
Bud Nangle Award
Created in 2012, the Bud Nangle Award may be presented to an individual outside of CoSIDA or to a member of CoSIDA who shows ethics and integrity under unusual or stressful situations.
Only the second person to be recognized for this award is
Mike Williams, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications at Illinois State University. After a plane crash that claimed seven lives of ISU staff and fans, William’s office was responsible for handling all the media requests, building a memorial web page, writing staff biographies and assisting a university in mourning.
The past Bud Nangle award recipient is listed
HERE.
CoSIDA Achievement Awards
Now in its second year, the Achievement Award is presented annually to a university and college division member who serves as
an assistant or associate in an athletic media relations office, who has made outstanding contributions to the field of college sports information for at least 10 years, and who by his or her activities, has provided exceptional service and dedication to their institutions or conference office.
Winners this year are
Mindy Brauer, assistant director of DAPER communications, marketing and promotions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and
Dave Lohse, the long-time associate sports information director at the University of North Carolina.
Prior Achievement award recipients are listed
HERE.
Rising Star Awards
CoSIDA also recognizes its youthful talent with the Rising Star Awards. This award is presented to both a university division and a college division member with 10 years of service or less whose work at their institution and service, dedication, energy and enthusiasm to the profession make that individual a "rising star" in athletic communications.
The college division selection is
Assistant Director of Athletics for Communications at Cornerstone University, Aaron Sagraves. He has been very active in CoSIDA as a member of the Academic All-America© committee, NAIA-SIDA, and he is currently serving a three-year rotation on the CoSIDA board.
Lamar Carter, University of California assistant director of athletic communications who formerly was assistant director of athletic media relations at Howard University, is the university honoree. He is a member of the CoSIDA’s Fred Stabley writing contest committee and the Black College Sports Information Directors of America (BCSIDA).
See all
previous Rising Star Award honorees.
25-Year Awards
In addition to the special award winners and Hall of Fame induction, the organization also recognizes those who have completed 25 years in the profession. The following 14 individuals will receive a 25-year plaque at the convention:
Scott Ames, Western Connecticut State University; Herb Benenson, University of California; John Bianco, University of Texas; Blair Cash, Northwest Conference; Art Chase, Duke University; Scott Crispell, Misericordia University; John Kean, Missouri University of Science and Technology; Rick Kindhart, Missouri State University; Kent Lowe, Louisiana State University; Ron Mears, University of Memphis; Anabelle Myers, NC State University; Tom Schott, Purdue University; Jeff Schwartz, North Dakota State University; and Chris Wenzler, John Carroll University.
The list of all-time 25-Year Award recipients is found
HERE.
Academic All-America© Committee Lester Jordan Award
The annual
Lester Jordan Award goes to
David Sherwood of Wingate University. The Lester Jordan Award is presented annually to an individual for exemplary service to the Academic All-America© program and for promotion of the ideals of being a student-athlete.
Past Lester Jordan recipients are
HERE
Congratulations to all the 2016 CoSIDA Award winners!