College Sports Information Directors of America

by Jeff Griesch, University of Nebraska Athletic Communications
CoSIDA Scholarship Committee chair

The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced the winners of a combined $35,000 in scholarships and grants to the recipients of their 2016-17 awards on Tuesday, June 7.

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 will be formally announced during CoSIDA’s annual workshop in Dallas, June 12-15.

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 first Wylie Smith Graduate Scholarship in 1981, CoSIDA has provided nearly $500,000 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.

James Hajek, a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in intercollegiate athletic administration at the University of Nebraska, earned the Wylie Smith Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500). Hajek, who graduated from Weber State University with a bachelor’s degree as a business administration major in May of 2015, was also a two-time academic All-Big Sky selection as a center for the Wildcat men’s basketball team. Hajek spent the summer of 2015 as an associate director of media relations for the Ogden Raptors (Dodgers Rookie League) before beginning graduate school at Nebraska. He is expected to serve his second seasons as both the women’s gymnastics and women’s bowling contact at Nebraska in 2016-17.

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.

Lorie Garnett claimed the Langston Rogers Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500). Garnett, who earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations from Brigham Young University in April of 2014, spent 2013-14 working in the media relations office at BYU covering track and field and cross country. She has spent the past two years as an assistant sports information director at Utah Valley University. A pole vaulter on the women’s track and field team at Utah Valley, Garnett has spent the past two seasons as the women’s basketball and men’s and women’s track and field and cross country contact at UVU. Garnett will begin her pursuit of a graduate degree from the University of Nebraska in August of 2016. She will be enrolled in the same graduate program as Hajek, Nebraska’s Master of Arts in Intercollegiate Athletics Administration (MAIAA).

The 2016-17 academic year will mark the first time in the history of the CoSIDA Postgraduate Scholarship program that the winners of both scholarships will represent the same graduate institution.

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 Morgan Romans from Eastern Kentucky University and the Dave Wohlhueter Undergraduate Scholarship ($3,000) was awarded to Christy Effendie from UC Davis.

Romans, a senior sport management major at Eastern Kentucky captured the Nuesch Scholarship with a 3.39 GPA, while serving her second season in the EKU Sports Communications Office for Assistant Athletic Director for Communications and Branding Kevin Britton. Romans served as the co-sports information director for the inaugural Vegas 16 Postseason Tournament, helping plan and execute the men’s basketball event. She was also a co-SID for the Lone Star Showcase.

Effendie earned the Wohlhueter Scholarship after compiling a 3.45 GPA as a neurobiology, physiology and behavior major at UC Davis. The junior-to-be from Rocklin, Calif., works as a student assistant in the UC Davis Athletic Communications Office for Assistant Athletic Director for Communications Mike Robles. In addition to her writing and photography duties at UC Davis, she has worked as a media trainee for the Sacramento River Cats, which is the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.

CoSIDA’s two $1,000 member-child scholarships were awarded to Fiona Lefresne and Daniel Ruple. Lefresne, who will be a sophomore at Missouri State University, is the daughter of Saint Leo University Assistant Athletic Director for Communications Pete Lefresne. Fiona is majoring in athletic training at Missouri State, where she carries a 3.66 grade-point average. She was also a student assistant in the Missouri State Athletic Communications Office as a freshman in 2015-16.

Ruple, an incoming freshman at Baldwin Wallace, is the son of Baldwin Wallace Director of Sports Information and CoSIDA Hall of Famer Kevin Ruple. Daniel earned a 4.35 weighted GPA as a member of the Honors Program at Berea-Midpark High School. A two-time first-team All-Ohio Division I selection, Daniel was the Gatorade Ohio High School Soccer Player of the Year in 2015. He plans to major in accounting/financial planning at Baldwin Wallace.

In addition to the six scholarships, CoSIDA awarded the 2016-17 Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grant ($12,000) to Post University. Sports Information Director David Ambrose covers 23 NCAA Division II varsity sports, as Post has added eight varsity sports over the past three years. Ambrose is the lone full-time employee in the Post Sports Information Office, which also has no interns or student assistants. 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 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
2015        Andrew Forhan, Whitworth / Akilah Laster, Oklahoma
2016        James Hajek, Nebraska / Lorie Garnett, Nebraska
 
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
2015        Nathan Edwards, San Jose State / Marisa Lombardo, Alvernia
2016        Morgan Romans, Eastern Kentucky / Christy Effendie, UC Davis
 
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
2015        Elmhurst College
2016        Post University
 
Member Child Scholarship
2014        Grace Neely (Kentucky)/Tony Neely (Kentucky) - Dakota Hawkins (Winthrop)/Michael Hawkins (Francis Marion)
2015        Brinley Lowe (North Carolina)/Bob Lowe (Berry College) - Lauren Dickerson (William & Mary)/Drew Dickerson (Atlantic 10 Conference)
2016        Fiona Lefresne (Missouri State)/Pete Lefresne (Saint Leo) - Daniel Ruple (Baldwin Wallace)/Kevin Ruple (Baldwin Wallace)