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CoSIDA Hall of Fame
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CoSIDA Special Awards Program
• 2018 CoSIDA Convention Homepage
The 2018 CoSIDA Special Awards will be announced throughout the week of Feb. 26-March 2, with nearly 50 recipients selected for recognition.
2018 Special Awards Announcement Schedule
| Monday, Feb. 2 |
• CoSIDA Hall of Fame |
| Tuesday, Feb. 27 |
• Arch Ward Award
• Warren Berg Award (College Division honor)
• CoSIDA Achievement Awards (College Division and University Division)
• Rising Stars Awards (College Division and University Division) |
| Wednesday, Feb. 28 |
• Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award
• Jake Wade Award |
| Thursday, March 1 |
• Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award
• Lester Jordan Award
• Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award |
| Friday, March 2 |
• Lifetime Achievement Awards
• 25-Year Awards |
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) will honor nearly 50 members and distinguished media and collegiate administrators with its 2018 Special Awards at its 61st annual convention this June. The Special Awards, announced throughout the week of February 28 through March 2, are presented for outstanding contributions to the organization.
The honors will be presented during the 2018 CoSIDA Convention at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
The CoSIDA Convention takes place June 27-30 and is held in conjunction with NACDA and Affiliates Convention Week. This is the sixth year the CoSIDA Convention will be held in conjunction with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) & Affiliates Convention.
CoSIDA is comprised of more than 3,000 intercollegiate athletic communications and media relations professionals from colleges, universities and athletic conferences at all divisions of competition in the United States and Canada.
“I am thrilled that CoSIDA is able to honor this phenomenal group of athletics communications professionals,” noted Rob Carolla, CoSIDA President and Director of Communications for College Football 150th Anniversary. “They are among the leaders in our business and showcase the talent and skills that all administrators who handle communications in the college space possess. I look forward to seeing them recognized at our annual convention in June.”
The 2018 CoSIDA Hall of Fame class highlights the Special Awards. In addition to the Hall of Fame, other Special Awards recognize emerging leaders, community service, lifetime achievement and 25-Year service honors. They will be announced throughout the week.
Highlighting the 2018 honorees are six new Hall of Fame inductees:
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B.L. Elfring, University of Southern Maine Assistant Director of Athletics for Compliance and Media Relations
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Steve Hatchell, National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame President & Chief Executive Officer
• Edward Hill Jr., Howard University Director of Sports Information (retired);
• Bill Jones, Skidmore College Athletic Communications and Marketing Manager;
• Mike Kirk, University of Central Oklahoma Assistant Athletics Director for Media Relations (retired);
• Diane Nordstrom, University of Wisconsin Associate Athletic Communications Director
University of Colorado Associate AD/Sports Information Dave Plati,
a 40-plus year CoSIDA veteran,
also was selected to the 2018 Hall of Fame class but has deferred his acceptance to the 2019 induction.
Each of these six inductees will join their predecessors on the CoSIDA Hall of Fame plaques that are on permanent display at the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Another highlight of the convention will be the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame induction ceremony, where the newest class of distinguished former Academic All-America standouts is enshrined into the Hall and the annual Dick Enberg Award winner is recognized. These honors will be announced in March.
The CoSIDA Hall of Fame luncheon takes place on Thursday, June 28. Along with the Hall of Fame induction, winners of the Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award (for outstanding contributions to the mission of CoSIDA), Jake Wade Award (media award) and the CoSIDA Achievement Awards will be recognized at this luncheon. The remainder of the awards will be presented at the Special Awards luncheon on Saturday, June 30.
Here’s a closer look at the CoSIDA Hall of Fame recipients.
B.L. Elfring (Southern Maine): 40-Year Career in the Northeast
For the last 23 years, Elfing has served as director of athletic media relations, marketing and compliance for the Division III Huskies. He began as Southern Maine’s sports information staff associate (1995-97) before becoming the director of media relations and the NCAA compliance coordinator. Prior to his role at Southern Maine, he served as the sports information director at the University of Massachusetts Lowell from 1982-95, comprising a nearly 40- year career in athletics.
As a longtime member of CoSIDA, Elfring has earned numerous national awards for his publications. A member of ECAC-SIDA, Elfring was recognized with the 2002 ECAC-SIDA Irving T. Marsh Award for outstanding contributions and service to the profession. He was also presented with the National Association of Division III Athletic Administrators Transitioning Administrator Award in 2014. In 2001, Elfring earned a Professional Staff Award from the University of Southern Maine.
Steve Hatchell: National Football Leader
Hatchell began his career in athletics as a sports information director and conference communications director. Since 2005, Hatchell has served as the president and chief executive office of The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, overseeing the nationwide organization with 121 chapters in 47 states with more than 12,000 members who host more than 1,000 local annual events. He also played a critical role in the opening of the state-of-the-art $68.5 million College Football Hall of Fame in the heart of Atlanta.
Hatchell served as the first commissioner of the Big 12 Conference in Dallas, an entity he helped establish in 1995 after serving as the last commissioner of the Southwest Conference from 1993-95. He also was chairman of the Football Bowl Association for six years.
From 1987-93, Hatchell headed the Orange Bowl as its executive director.
Hatchell had a long and successful tenure in college athletics communications conference and campus work. Serving as an associate commissioner of the Big 8 Conference from 1977-83, he left to become the commissioner at the age of 33 of the Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, a post he held from 1983-87 prior to his time at the Orange Bowl. Hatchell began his career as director of sports information for the University of Colorado (1972-76) and Colorado State (1976-77).
Ed Hill, Jr.: Legend at Howard
When Hill retired from Howard University in 2017 after serving as the sports information director for more than three decades, one of the words used to describe him was legend. Hill is also a multi-award recipient in CoSIDA, having received the Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award in 2005 and the Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award in 2014. At last summer’s CoSIDA Convention, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Hill is also active in the Black College Sports Information Directors of America (BCSIDA) and in the Washington, D.C., community where he served as head coach and co-founder of the D.C. Warriors basketball program and as a counselor for the National Youth Sports Program. Hill is also an adjunct professor at Howard University where he teaches a Sports and the Media course every spring.
Hill was inducted into the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Hall of Fame in March 2010 for his contributions to the league.
Bill Jones: Gives Back Through CoSIDA’s Academic All-America Committee
Since 1984, Jones has served as the sports information director and athletic marketing manager at NCAA Division III Skidmore College. While at Skidmore, he served as the media relations coordinator for the 1992 and 2001 NCAA Division I Men’s Frozen Four as well as the 1996 NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championship.
An active member of the CoSIDA Academic All-America committee, Jones has served as a district coordinator for 10 years and as a national coordinator since 2001.
As a member of ECAC-SIDA, he was a seven-year member of the board of directors from 1995-2002, including serving as president in 2000-01. Jones chaired the ECAC-SIDA annual workshop three times and was a member of the local organizing committee twice. He has presented numerous panels at ECAC-SIDA and CoSIDA. For his contributions, Jones received the ECAC-SIDA Irving T. Marsh Award in 2004 and the Pete Nevins award in 2011.
Mike Kirk: Watching National Champions at Central Oklahoma
After nearly 30 years at outstanding service at Central Oklahoma, Kirk retired as the assistant athletic director for media relations in 2016.
While at UCO, Kirk saw his teams win numerous NCAA Division II National Championships, including eight wrestling titles. He was a member of the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships Committee, including three years as chair. Kirk was inducted into the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement in 2012.
Kirk received an impressive 58 CoSIDA publication awards, including 27 “Best in the Nation” citations, and has served on several CoSIDA committees.
Among his activities, he worked as the Press Information Manager for wrestling at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Kirk earned a journalism degree at Oklahoma State in 1982, starting his sports information career as a student assistant for the Cowboys.
Diane Nordstrom: A Fixture In CoSIDA Volunteer Leadership
Nordstrom is in her 28th season as an associate athletic communications director at Wisconsin, serving as the primary contact for the volleyball and women’s basketball teams. She is also is the coordinator of the department’s annual report and is on the UW Athletic Hall of Fame selection committee. She served as the host athletic communications director for two NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championships and numerous Big Ten Conference championships.
Nordstrom was recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 2001 with the Grant Burger Media Award, which recognizes a member of the media who has been involved in the advancement of volleyball. She was also recognized as a Burger regional award winner in 2006, 2013 and 2016.
In 2015, Nordstrom received the inaugural CoSIDA Achievement Award for the university division. She serves as the chair of the CoSIDA Special Awards committee and is also at at-large member of the Board of Directors. For many years, Nordstrom served as the chair of WoSIDA, a subsidiary group of CoSIDA.