Related Content
•
CoSIDA Hall of Fame
•
CoSIDA Special Awards Program
• #CoSIDA2020 Convention Homepage
2020 Special Awards Announcements
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) continues its weeklong announcement of the 2020 Special Awards on Wednesday by recognizing four more outstanding members for distinguished contributions to the profession.
Sam Atkinson, Associate Athletic Director for Communications at Gallaudet University, will receive the
Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award which honors a pioneer in the field of sports information who has mentored and helped improve the level of ethnic and gender diversity and inclusion within CoSIDA.
The
Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award, presented annually to a member for civic involvement, community service and accomplishments outside of the sports information office, will go to
Patrick Walsh, the Associate Director of Athletic Communications at the University of Arkansas Little Rock (UA Little Rock).
The
Bud Nangle Award is presented to a member of CoSIDA or to an individual outside of CoSIDA who shows ethics, integrity and bravery under unusual or stressful situations while carrying out their job duties.
Tony Altobelli, the Sports Information Director at Orange Coast College, is recipient of the 2020 award.
Bill Jones, the Senior Athletic Communications and Marketing Manager at Skidmore College, will receive the 2020
Lester Jordan Award, presented to an individual for exemplary service to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Program and the promotion of the ideals of being a student-athlete.
All 2020 Special Award winners will be honored at CoSIDA’s annual convention which takes place June 7-10 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Conference Center in Las Vegas. The CoSIDA convention is held in conjunction with the NACDA and Affiliates Convention Week.
Here's a closer look at these special awards recipients.
MARY JO HAVERBECK TRAILBLAZER AWARD
Sam Atkinson – Gallaudet
Associate Athletic Director for Communications
Serving CoSIDA and the deaf and hard of hearing community.
Sam Atkinson is in his 11th year at Gallaudet University, an international university dedicated to deaf and hard of hearing students, education and research. At Gallaudet, all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students.
He is currently the Associate Athletic Director for Communications after serving four years as Assistant Athletic Director for Communications and the prior four years as sports information director. Atkinson also serves as CoSIDA’s First Vice President, and will assume presidency of the organization for the 2020-21 academic year. He previously was the sports information director at Salisbury University.
Atkinson has learned American Sign Language (ASL) to assist him in his duties at Gallaudet. As he handles the media and public relation duties and game operations for all 14 varsity sports at Gallaudet, his efforts have placed the Bisons’ athletic program on the regional, national and international map with print, TV, digital and streaming coverage, raising awareness for the deaf community in sports. Atkinson has played a significant role in Gallaudet’s athletic program being recognized in Title IX efforts and celebrations. The Bisons' social media presence, tops in NCAA Division III and coordinated by Atkinson, has increased Gallaudet's reach, connecting the Galluadet Athletics brand to fans and stakeholders and with other deaf and hard of hearing individuals across the world.
In July 2016, Atkinson was named to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball National Committee and is finishing his four-year term this year. He has served as Chair of this prestigious committee the last two years.
Atkinson has been heavily involved on the national level with CoSIDA. He was appointed to the CoSIDA Board of Directors in June 2015 for a three-year term and, after two years on the board, he was elected as CoSIDA's Third Vice President. Atkinson has served on numerous CoSIDA committees and was chair of the CoSIDA Goodwill and Wellness Committee for eight years. Under his leadership, that committee established the first 5K run/walk, began the annual tradition of performing community service projects at the yearly convention, and introduced CoSIDA’s Volunteer15 program. In 2014, Atkinson was presented the Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award by CoSIDA.
BOB KENWORTHY COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
Patrick Walsh – Arkansas Little Rock
Associate Director of Athletic Communications
Supporting and fundraising and giving back.
In addition to spending the last 15 years working in sports information, Patrick Walsh has been a co-founder and leader of two non-profit organizations. Walsh is the associate director of athletic communications at Little Rock, beginning that position in August 2019 after working at five other universities.
A member of the CoSIDA Convention Programming Committee, Walsh also serves as a mentor in the Mentorship Program. Outside of his Little Rock and CoSIDA efforts, he also counsels and advises young collegiate athletic professionals on career services such as resume and cover letter strategies. He previously served on the CoSIDA Publications and Digital Design Committee.
Walsh is the co-founder and former member of the Board of Directors for Wiggin' Out and a co-founder and member of the Board of Directors for Heroes In Blue.
Wiggin' Out, a non-profit organization that helps provide cancer patients with wigs, is a cooperative organization that began with Louisiana Tech Athletics (his former employer), the local hospital and a local monthly magazine. Louisiana Tech had been involved with the local hospital during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The organization raised nearly $100,000 during the years Walsh served with that group.
Walsh co-founded Heroes In Blue, a charitable organization that raised awareness of the positives that law enforcement has on our communities and provided assistance to families of fallen officers. As a part of that, Walsh led the social campaign to raise $190,000 in five days when a South Carolina area police officer was shot and killed.
The origins of Heroes in Blue took place after one of Walsh’s good friends from college and fraternity brother, Greg Alia, a police officer in Forest Acres, S.C. was shot and killed in the line of duty in September 2015. He left behind a wife and then-six-month old son. Walsh worked with other fraternity brothers to launch a drive that raised over $200,000 for Alia’s family, which helped launch Heroes In Blue.
BUD NANGLE AWARD
Tony Altobelli – Orange Coast College
Sports Information Director
Performing under a most difficult situation.
Tony Altobelli is in his 14
th year as Sports Information Director at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California, a member of the California Community College Athletic Associations (CCCAA). He is a one-man office, handling all SID and game operation duties for 24 teams and is the longest-tenured sports information director in Orange Coast College’s 72-year history. Prior to serving as the sports information director, Altobelli spent 15 years as a sportswriter, working for numerous newspapers in Southern California and some others in central Texas.
Yet nothing in his experience could have prepared him for the tragedies of January 26, 2020 and their aftermath. That was the fateful day of the helicopter crash that took the lives of nine individuals — the lives of three of Altobelli’s family members and six others, including NBA superstar Kobe Bryant. Altobelli lost his brother, nationally-recognized Orange County baseball coach John Altobelli, and John's wife and daughter — Tony's sister-in-law Keri and niece Alyssa.
As spokesperson for the Orange County athletic program, Altobelli immediately began performing his job in the crisis with bravery, courage and determination. In the early aftermath of the tragedy, Tony handled an enormous amount of international, national and local media demands, coordinating all publicity for the accident, putting together the school's official statement about the deaths of John, Keri and Alyssa, and meeting with staff, coaches and families of the baseball student-athletes. Two days after the crash, he prepared and coordinated a January 28 public service and remembrance of Coach Altobelli on opening day of the Orange County baseball season, attended by a huge media contingent and over 2,000 fans, 40 times the typical attendance. Altobelli served as the emcee and public address announcer as well.
While serving as the crisis communications spokesman and in midst of the media crush, Tony also penned an emotional, poignant and humorous tribute to his brother entitled:
Dear John … Thank you … Love, Toad.
Through it all, Tony has not halted his in-game SID duties, serving as the public address announcer, official scorer and scoreboard operator for each baseball game and at other OCC events. Altobelli and the Orange County College community continue to daily face the aftermath of the crash and the loss of their head baseball coach in their new reality.
Earlier this month, Altobelli was honored with the Brass Top Award from the California Community College Sports Information Association (CCCSIA), given to an SID at the community college level, or someone working closely with members of the CCCSIA, to recognize outstanding service and accomplishments. He served as President of the association from 2009-11.
LESTER JORDAN AWARD
Bill Jones – Skidmore
Senior Athletic Communications and Marketing Manager
Long-standing member of the Academic All-America® committee.
Bill Jones is one of the longest-tenured employees at Skidmore, serving the Thoroughbreds since December 1984. He has literally spent thousands of hours sharing knowledge and his experiences with individuals and organizations in the industry.
Jones was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 2018.
One of the most-tenured members of the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Committee, Jones has volunteered on the committee for 28 years (since 1992). He has been a national coordinator since 2001. One of CoSIDA's most recognizable programs, the Academic All-America® program has gone through numerous changes during his long-standing service and Jones continues to make time for both the committee and Skidmore College, even as a one-person shop.
He is a 36-year member of CoSIDA and ECAC-SIDA, earning the latter’s Pete Nevins Award and the Irving T. Marsh College Division Award. A past president of ECAC-SIDA, Jones served seven years on its board of directors and was the ECAC-SIDA workshop chair and host of three events.