College Sports Information Directors of America

* Veterans Committee Hall of Fame inductee.

University of Pennsylvania / University of Maryland

Herb Hartnett was inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame during the 2009 convention in San Antonio, Texas, at the Marriott Rivercenter. He was part of the inaugural induction class of the CoSIDA Veterans Hall of Fame. 

Veterans Committee Hall of Fame inductees represent former sports information professionals of distinction from the past whose professional and personal deeds and accomplishments helped make possible the stature of the sports information profession today.

He received a CoSIDA 25-Year Award and Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.

Hartnett was assistant sports information director at Pennsylvania from 1969-76 and director from 1977-88 before becoming SID at Maryland from 1988-96. At Penn, Hartnett was the assistant publicist for Big Five basketball at the Palestra (1969-75), assistant media director for the Penn Relays from 1969-76, and the director from 1977-88. While at Penn, he was twice selected to work with the U.S. Olympic Team as a media relations specialist, in 1980 and 1984.

Hartnett served as the media relations director for countless NCAA men's basketball tournament games as The Palestra was a regular stop on the NCAA Tournament, in addition to working three Final Fours, once as a participant in 1979 with Penn. Penn bestowed upon Hartnett what he considers his greatest honor, that of membership in the Friars, an exclusive society founded on the credo, “It's not what you're going to get out of life, but what you are going to give to life.”

Hartnett served as the point person for two CoSIDA conventions (Philadelphia in 1982 and Washington in 1988); chaired the Ivy League sports information directors twice; and created CoSIDA’s Writing Contest Committee. While at Penn and Maryland, Hartnett won 15 CoSIDA publication and writing awards, including several “Best in Nation” honors.

This page was last updated Sept. 19, 2018.