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22 Honored at NAIA National Awards Day
Story courtesy: NAIA.org
Sports Information Director of the Year: Tyler Stevenson, Indiana Tech
The NAIA Sports Information Director of the Year is awarded annually to one SID based on accomplishments during the previous year in the areas of athletics communication, sports information, strategic communication and service to the NAIA.
The 2019 recipient of the NAIA Sports Information Director of the Year is Tyler Stevenson of Indiana Tech. For the past four years, Stevenson has led the media and communications efforts for the Warriors. Thanks to his work, the institution garnered more than 100 different article clips and coverage from local media in 2018-19.
Stevenson has worked to promote the success that Indiana Tech saw throughout the 2018-19 season, resulting in ten feature stories run on local media. Due to his work, in eight short months, Stevenson was a key contributor in the addition of over 500 new Twitter followers and nearly 800 new Facebook followers.
Despite being an office of one, Stevenson is active on campus as a member of the NAIA Student-Athlete Awards Committee, Hall of Fame Committee and the Wellness Warriors Committee. Additionally, he has served on five different search committees for head coaches, showing that his voice is an important one in the landscape of Indiana Tech Athletics.
Stevenson is a two-time recipient of the Patrick Moore-Mike Dean Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference SID of the Year award.
Former Indiana Tech SID and current women’s soccer coach Jim Lipocky said of Stevenson, “25 sports, one SID, tremendous coverage – enough said.”
Clarence "Ike" Pearson SID Award: Rich Tortorelli, Oklahoma City University
Given annually to a member of the NAIA Sports Information Directors Association (NAIA-SIDA), the Clarence “Ike” Pearson Award honors outstanding contributions to the profession. The award is named in honor of the former statistical crew chief of the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship in Kansas City, Mo.
The 2019 recipient of the Clarence “Ike” Pearson Award is Rich Tortorelli, who has been the assistant athletic director for communications at Oklahoma City since 2005. Not only has Tortorelli served as the primary media relations contact for all of the Stars’ athletics programs, but has also been the sports information director for the Sooner Athletic Conference since July of 2018.
Throughout his 15 year career, Tortorelli has become known as one of the top professionals in the business. He served as the media relations coordinator for the NAIA Competitive Cheer & Dance Championships in addition to working in similar capacities for the Sooner Athletic Conference baseball and softball tournaments, the inaugural conference wrestling championships and multiple NAIA Baseball and Softball National Championship Opening Rounds.
Tortorelli has garnered both conference and national attention for his work. He was named the 2016-17 National Wrestling Media Association Small College Sports Information Director of the Year, the 2015-16 Sooner Athletic Conference Sports Information Director of the Year and is a three-time winner of various NAIA-Sports Information Directors Association publication contests.