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• 18 Honored at NAIA National Awards Day
Story courtesy: NAIA.org
Sports Information Director of the Year: Tommy Chasanoff, University of the Cumberlands (Ky.)
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.
Since joining the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) in 2016, Tommy Chasanoff has played a critical role in advancing the athletics department into one of the nation's premier programs.
As the assistant athletics director for sports information, Tommy’s leadership has been instrumental in significantly increasing Cumberlands’ visibility. Under Tommy’s guidance, the Patriots’ social media followers have nearly doubled, gaining more than 6,000 X (formerly Twitter) followers and 8,000 Instagram followers in just the past year. Additionally, Tommy’s efforts to remodel the athletic website and maximize website views resulted in a record-breaking 2.2M page views.
Tommy’s passion for highlighting student-athlete success has helped to garner local, state, and national recognition. Throughout the past year, Tommy has been at the helm of highlighting the Cumberlands’ impressive accomplishments, including three NAIA national championship titles, the Mid-South Conference’s President Cup, and the prestigious Learfield Sports Director’s Cup.
Clarence "Ike" Pearson SID Award: Donnie Smith, Southeastern University (Fla.)
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.
Since joining Southeastern University (Fla.) in 2013, Donnie Smith has been a key proponent of advancing the interests of sports information directors across the industry.
Throughout his expansive career, Donnie has held numerous leadership positions within the NAIA, including president of the Sports Information Directors Association. Donnie’s significant contributions to the association and broader industry have earned him several distinct honors, including being named the NAIA Sports Information Director of the Year twice, Sun Conference Sports Information Director of the Year three times, College Sports Communicators Writing Contest District Honoree three times, and the 2023 College Sports Communicators’ Rising Star award winner.
His influence in the field goes well beyond his numerous accolades. Donnie has been a transformative figure, inspiring and mentoring many students, graduate assistants, and colleagues looking to advance their careers in communications.
Hall of Fame: Denny Grubb, Lewis-Clark State College (Ida.) - Meritorious Service
In 1977, Denny Grub began serving Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) as a volunteer historian and statistician, covering more than 2,500 Warrior home athletic events and establishing all of Lewis-Clark’s official record books. When the NAIA Baseball World Series moved to Lewis-Clark in 1984, Denny volunteered to be the official statistician of the games, a title he still holds today.
Since 1984, Denny has recorded statistics for nearly 600 NAIA World Series games, and in the process, he created the official record book for the NAIA World Series. Denny spent hundreds of hours reviewing microfilm and newspaper archives to ensure no details were excluded. The official records include information as specific as “the last time a team won with just one hit” or “the last time a team pulled off a triple steal.”
It's important to note that Denny has never been officially employed by the NAIA or Lewis-Clark. His contributions have been purely voluntary, and in some cases, he has utilized personal vacation days to provide services at NAIA games.
Denny was inducted into the Lewis-Clark Hall of Fame in 2013 as their first “Special Contributor,” and the Lewis-Clark press box is now named in honor of him and his contributions to the school.
No individual has had a greater impact on athletic statistics and historical bookkeeping than Denny. His selfless commitment to preserving NAIA records has ensured that decades of history remain intact.