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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
Updated May 9, 2018 to reflect additional Lifetime Award recipients
Updated March 14, 2018 to reflect additional 25-Year Award recipients
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) concluded its weeklong announcement of its 2018 Special Awards Friday by recognizing more than 30 members for distinguished Lifetime Achievement contributions to the profession or for a quarter century of service to the athletic communications profession.
The CoSIDA Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to members who have served at least 25 years in the profession and who are retiring or leaving the profession.
Receiving their Lifetime Achievement Awards this year are
Mike Finn, associate commissioner for communications at the Atlantic Coast Conference;
Mike Kirk, retired assistant athletic director for media relations at Central Oklahoma
; Jack Neumann, the former sports information director and alumni relations coordinator at the University of Calgary;
Robert Schabert, the former assistant athletic director for sports information and broadcasting at Tennessee Tech University; and
Scott Selheimer, the current assistant athletics director for media relations at the University of Delaware. (
Note: Schabert has opted to receive his Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 convention and will not be honored in National Harbor.)
Newly retired (in May 2018) who also will be honored at the June convention:
Bob Ziadie, King's College (Pa.) Director of Sports Information; and
Ralph Zobell, long-time BYU athletic communications professional and current Director of Media Relations-Baseball.
The CoSIDA 25-Year Award is presented to members who have completed 25 years in the profession. Nearly 30 members will be recognized this summer. A complete list of 25-year award recipients is listed below.
All 2018 Special Award winners will be honored at CoSIDA's annual convention which takes place June 27-30 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients
These award winners will be recognized during the CoSIDA Hall of Fame Awards Luncheon, taking place on Thursday, June 28 during the convention.
Past Lifetime Achievement Award recipients
Mike Finn (ACC): Recognized for Long-time Conference Service
Finn, an Associate Commissioner for Communications, has served the Atlantic Coast Conference since February 2000. He currently directs all football media relations efforts for the conference. He will retire in June, 2018.
Prior to his arrival at the ACC, Finn was the Associate Athletics Director for Media Relations at Georgia Tech. He began his 17 years with the Yellow Jackets following five years as an assistant sports information dector at North Carolina State. During his time in Atlanta for the Yellow Jackets program, Finn also served as tournament manager for two NCAA Division I Basketball Tournaments, as media coordinator for five NCAA Division I Basketball Tournaments, as media coordinator for the 1984 Davis Cup Zone Finals and as press venue chief for aquatics for the 1996 Olympic Games.
Mike Kirk (Central Oklahoma): Watching and Publicizing National Champions at UCO
After nearly 30 years at Central Oklahoma, Kirk retired as the assistant athletic director for media relations in 2016. At the 2018 CoSIDA Convention, Kirk will be honored with two awards - the Lifetime Achievement Award and induction into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame.
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 the final three years as chair. In 2012, Kirk was inducted into the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement.
While directing the UCO athletic media relations efforts, Kirk received 58 CoSIDA publication awards, including 27 Best in the Nation citations. He also served on several CoSIDA committees.
He worked as the press Information manager for wrestling at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Jack Neumann (Calgary): A Legend in Canada and CoSIDA
For 39 years, Neumann was a tireless, relentless and selfless employee at Calgary. He was the sports information director from 1978-2007 and then was alumni relations coordinator for five years until his retirement in 2012.
He served as long-time president of the Canadian SID association and also served on the CoSIDA Board of Directors from 1990-92. In 2004, he was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame.
There have been no shortage of accolades for Neumann over the years, including: CoSIDA's Warren Berg Award for contributions to the profession (2012); the Order of the University of Calgary (2005); the Calgary Italian Sportsman's Club lifetime achievement award (2005); and the Dinos Football Distinguished Alumni Award (2008).
Along with that impressive list of honors, Neumann was also inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2006, as recipient of the Achievement Award for his decades of dedication and service to amateur sport in Alberta.
Neumann's impact on University of Calgary Dino Athletics is being felt to this day. Not only does he continue to volunteer his time to the athletics program, he made a legacy gift endowment to the football program in November of 2017. That legacy gift ensures all football players' jerseys will be paid for in perpetuity.
Scott Selheimer (University of Delaware): Back the Blue Hens' PR Efforts for More Than Three Decades
After a distinguished 33-year career at Delaware, Selheimer retired on January 2, 2018. He joined the UD staff as an assistant in 1985 and served as sports information director from 1992-on. He was promoted to the position of assistant athletics director for media relations in 2007.
Selheimer served on CoSIDA's Academic All-Americn Committee as well as the Charity Committee (now the Goodwill and Wellness Committtee) and the CoSIDA Publications and Digital Design Contest Committee. In 2009, Selheimer was honored with the Irving T. Marsh Award by ECAC-SIDA for his outstanding service and commitment to the athletic communications profession.
Among his professional achievements, Selheimer served two years as president of the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association and was the former president of the East Coast Conference Sports Information Directors. He spent six years on the CoSIDA University Division Management Advisory Committee, serving as a representative of the Colonial Athletic Association.
25-Year Award Recipients
A total of 30 CoSIDA members will be recognized at the 2018 convention with 25-Year Awards, singling their quarter of a century (or more) of work in collegiate athletic communications. They will be recognized during the CoSIDA Special Awards Luncheon on Saturday, June 30 during the convention.
They are:
Jeff Bechthold, Director of Communications, University of Washington
David Blanchard, Sports Information Director, Luther College
Charles Bloom, Executive Associate Athletics Director/Chief of Staff, University of South Carolina
Russ Blunck, Sports Information Director, University of Hawaii-Hilo
Joe Danahey, Sports Information Director; Concordia University (Ore.)
Debbie Darrah, Assistant Media Relations Director, Texas A&M University
Fran Elia, Sports Information Director, SUNY Cortland
Mike Finn, Associate Commissioner/Communications, Atlantic Coast Conference
Chuck Gallina, Former Director of Athletic Communications, Auburn University
Michael Hawkins, Associate Athletic Director for Communication Services, Francis Marion
Nordy Jensen, Former Sports Information Director, Western Athletic Conference
Bonnie Johnson, Associate Director of Media Coordination and Statistics, NCAA
Nick Joos, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Strategic Communications, University of Missouri
Christopher Lakos, Associate Sports Communications Director, University of Georgia
Brad Marquardt, Associate Media Relations Director, Texas A&M University
Steve McClain, Senior Associate Athletics Director, University of Florida
Tom McClellan, Assistant Athletics Director/Athletics Communications, East Carolina University
Rick Meyers, Former Director of Media Relations, Northern Kentucky University and the Great Lakes Valley Conference
Troy Mitchell, Director of Athletics Media Relations, Henderson State
Tony Neely, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations, University of Kentucky
Greg Prouty, Director of Athletic Communications, Richard Bland College
Kyle Serba, Director of Sports Information, North Carolina Central University
Jason Southard, Director of Media Relations, United States Coast Guard Academy
Sean Straziscar, Associate Director of Media Coordination and Statistics, NCAA
Dave Toller, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations, United States Air Force Academy
Chuck Walsh, Deputy Director of Sports Information, Florida State University
Richard Wanninger, Senior Associate Commissioner for External Relations, Patriot League
David Worlock, Director of Media Coordination and Statistics, NCAA
Earl Zukerman, Sports Information Director, McGill University
Past 25-Year Award recipients