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2021 Special Awards Announcements
March-April-early May
Written feature stories on selected Special Awards recipients will be posted on CoSIDA.com, social channels.
May is CoSIDA Awards Month
A video series and feature stories highlighting 2020 and 2021 Special Awards honorees will be showcased on CoSIDA.com.
Plans are underway to honor the 2020 and 2021 CoSIDA Hall of Fame classes and the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Hall of Fame classes of 2020 and 2021, with pre-recorded video presentations during the June virtual convention.
2021 Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award: Jim Carr, NAIA
Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award
The Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award is presented to an individual who, or an organization which, has made a lasting contribution to intercollegiate athletics, has demonstrated a long and consistent commitment to excellence and has been a loyal supporter of CoSIDA and its mission.
The late Keith Jackson was widely known as the "voice of college football" after his more than 40 years of work covering football for ABC. Jackson had a long association with CoSIDA, including serving as the keynote speaker at the 1994 CoSIDA Workshop in Denver.
KEITH JACKSON ETERNAL FLAME AWARD
Jim Carr – NAIA (President & CEO)
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) continues its announcement of its 2021 Special Awards by recognizing Jim Carr as this year's Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award recipient.
Carr, President and CEO of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), will receive this year’s Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award. This is presented to an individual who has made a lasting contribution to intercollegiate athletics, has demonstrated a long and consistent commitment to excellence, and has been a loyal supporter of CoSIDA and its mission.
Since September 2006, Carr has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the NAIA. He is the seventh President of the organization.
Under Carr’s direction, the NAIA’s membership and revenue growth has been substantial. During his tenure, the association established an eligibility center and created the Champions of Character® Foundation, which educates young adults and children about five core values – integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship, and servant leadership.
As the NAIA leader, Carr has been a staunch advocate of CoSIDA and the NAIA athletic communications directors and has supported SID staff expansion and educational and advancement opportunities for NAIA communications professionals. Additionally, under Carr’s direction, the NAIA lends financial support annually for the CoSIDA Academic All-America program, which has resulted in increased scholar-athlete opportunities and special recognition for NAIA student-athletes.
Gallery: (3-31-2021) Jim Carr, NAIA President & CEO
Now, the CoSIDA Academic All-America® program is comprised of divisional teams for NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA, along with a separate at-large program for two-year schools and Canadian institutions.
"Jim Carr has been a tremendous leader in collegiate athletics and especially for the NAIA. Jim's support for CoSIDA and the SID profession has been tremendous over the years,” said 2020-21 CoSIDA President Sam Atkinson, Gallaudet University Associate Athletic Director for Communications. “Thanks to Jim's leadership along with NAIA SID leaders a push was made to help create NAIA's own CoSIDA Academic All-America division in 2018-19, a move that led to recognizing hundreds of NAIA student-athletes each year. It is our honor to recognize Jim Carr from the NAIA with this year's Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award."
“I am honored to be the 2021 recipient of the Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award. Mr. Jackson and the previous winners set an extremely high standard so it is humbling to be included in this circle,” noted Carr. “It also is gratifying to be recognized by a group of people I admire for their selfless service. By the very nature of their work, SIDs and CoSIDA place the recognition of others ahead of themselves and work tirelessly to that end. They are true servant leaders in intercollegiate athletics.”
Carr joined the NAIA in July 1998 as Managing Director and General Counsel. Two years later, Carr was promoted to Chief Operating Officer while retaining the title of General Counsel, and served in those roles until assuming his current position.
“I cannot think of anyone who has advocated more for the SID/communications position at the NAIA level than Jim Carr. He has truly remained steadfast in his support and has been vocal at the Council of Presidents and National Administrative Council levels of the NAIA when it comes to institutions recognizing how vital and significant the position is,” said Cindy Potter, CoSIDA 2020-21 First Vice President and the Senior Deputy Director of Athletics at NAIA’s Columbia College (Mo).
“His promotion of CoSIDA is just as significant, making him the perfect choice for the 2021 Keith Jackson Award.”
A 1988 graduate of Millsaps College, Carr received his B.B.A. in business administration where he starred as a basketball student-athlete for the NCAA Division III program.
In 1990, Jim earned his master’s degree in sports management from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. In 1994, he completed his J.D. at Duke University. He received an honorary doctorate from Webber International University in 2014.
Among his honors, Carr was named UMass Amherst Alumnus of the Year in 2009. Two years later, he was inducted into the 2011 Millsaps College Athletic Hall of Fame.
Among the various boards and councils that he serves on or has served on are: USA Basketball; NAIA Champions of Character Foundation; National Association of Collegiate eSports; Millsaps College Board of Visitors; Kansas City Life; and the Police Athletic League of Kansas City.
Prior to joining the NAIA, Carr practiced law with the firm of Maynard, Cooper and Gale, P.C. in Birmingham, AL and served as director of licensing for athletics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Along with CoSIDA’s 2020 and 2021 Special Award recipients, Carr will be recognized for this honor in May. Due to the pandemic canceling CoSIDA’s 2020 and 2021 in-person conventions, all award recipients will be recognized with feature stories and pre-recorded videos in May.