College Sports Information Directors of America

Bill Esposito Backbone Award 
Presented to a College Sports Communicators member who displays sound judgment and unusual courage in guiding his/her institution, conference office or collegiate athletics-affiliated association through a difficult public relations situation. Note: Voted on by the Special Awards Committee only when worthy candidates are nominated.

Amy Villa – San Jose State University Director of Media Relations
 

“I am very honored to be receiving the Bill Esposito Backbone Award from CSC. The 2024 volleyball season was one of the most challenging in my career, and I am thankful to everyone who assisted me throughout the year. I want to thank Michelle Smith McDonald, Senior Director of Strategic Communications at San José State, who was a tremendous ally in dealing with the situation. She is tremendous at dealing with crisis management, and I could not thank her enough. I also want to thank my family, co-workers, administration, and fellow SIDs, who all helped me navigate through this difficult time. I cannot talk about receiving this award without mentioning my mentor, boss and, most importantly, friend Lawrence Fan. I push myself every day to make Lawrence proud of the job that I do. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of him and want to continue his legacy at San José State.” — Amy Villa, 2026 CSC Bill Esposito Backbone Award recipient 

Amy Villa is in her 32nd year in the athletics media relations department at San José State for the 2025-26 school year and 33rd year in the profession. Villa currently serves as the director of athletics media relations and handles all publicity for the volleyball, women's basketball, women's gymnastics, beach volleyball, women's swimming and diving, women's water polo and nationally-ranked women's golf teams, and is the secondary contact for men's basketball, assisting with gamedays. At some point during her time, she has handled publicity for nearly every sport at San José State.

Villa started her tenure at San José State as an intern for two years (1993-94 & 1994-95) before interning at the University of Minnesota for the 1995-96 school year. She returned to San José State for the 1996-97 school year and has been a constant at San José State since that year.

A native of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, the former Amy Eberhard is married to Derrick Villa. Derrick, a 1992 San José State graduate, spent 22 years as a news anchor at KLIV, 1590 AM (the former flagship station for Spartan football & men's basketball). He assists on the football, men's and women's basketball and volleyball stat crews and is the voice of Spartan women's gymnastics and softball. The couple has a daughter, Grace, a 2024 San José State magna cum laude graduate with a degree in child & adolescent development.  She is currently pursuing a master's degree in guidance and counseling at SJSU.  In her spare time, Villa enjoys showing dairy cattle.
 

Sky Kerstein, San José State University Associate AD for Communications and Broadcasting: "In a profession often defined by the noise of the 24-hour news cycle, Amy Villa is the master of the quiet, steady lead. Her ability to navigate the intense national spotlight of the 2024 season with unwavering professionalism and empathy proves she doesn't just manage media—she protects the heart of the university. The Bill Esposito Backbone Award requires 'unusual courage,' and Amy displays it every day by standing as a shield for her student-athletes. She balances the demands of global media with the compassion of a mentor, ensuring that even under the brightest lights, the well-being of her Spartans always comes first."

Richard Stern, San Diego State University Assistant Athletic Director – Communications: “I can think of no one more deserving of receiving the Bill Esposito Award than Amy Villa. In the controversy surrounding San Jose State’s volleyball team in 2024, which continues to this day, Amy performed as a true professional while under constant local, regional, national and international public and media scrutiny. Her mentor, and CSC Hall of Fame inductee, Lawrence Fan, would be incredibly proud of how she conducted herself in guiding the school, program and player through what can only be described as one of the most challenging issues, from a human perspective, that any sports information professional could imagine.”