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Special Awards Program
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Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award
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Lester Jordan Award
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Achievement Award
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Jake Wade Award
2025 Special Awards Announcements Schedule
Please note: Following this week's announcements of all awards, CSC will highlight recipients throughout the spring with special individualized content and social media recognitions and honor them in person during the June CSC UNITE25 convention in Orlando (June 8-11).
On the third day of its 2025 Special Awards announcements, CSC recognizes the following six award winners: Scottie Rodgers (Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award); Mary Beth Challoner (Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award); Bob Shreve (Lester Jordan Award); Achievement Award recipients Dain McKee and Mike Cihon; and Craig Silver (Jake Wade Award).
By Jeff Hodges, University of North Alabama Historian/CSC Secretary and Chair, Special Awards Committee
Some of the best and most outstanding that the athletic communications profession has to offer are among the latest set of College Sports Communicators Special Awards winners, announced on this third day of four salutes to those who have earned CSC annual honors for 2025.
This year's Jake Wade Award, which honors members of the media who have made outstanding contributions to intercollegiate athletics, will go to
Craig Silver, long-time coordinating producer at CBS Sports.
Scottie Rodgers, Cotton Bowl Athletic Association and Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic vice president of communications, will receive the Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award. The award is presented to an individual who has worked to increase diversity within the athletic communications profession. This marks Rodgers' second Special Awards honor, as he previously was announced as a member of the CSC Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
The Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award will be presented to
Mary Beth Challoner, University of Toronto Director, Intercollegiate Athletics & High Performance Sport. The award recognizes civic and volunteer involvement both within and outside of the athletic communications profession. Challoner also serves as CSC's First Vice President.
The CSC Achievement Awards, honoring excellence among professionals who have been career-long assistants, are being awarded to
Mike Cihon, associate director for strategic communications at Bowling Green State University (University Division) and
Dain McKee, athletic communications associate at Middlebury College (College Division).
Bob Shreve, the Assistant AD of Athletics Media Relations at Gannon University, will receive the Lester Jordan Award. Honoring exemplary service to the CSC Academic All-America® program, Shreve is being recognized for his long-term involvement promoting the program.
All of the 2025 CSC special award winners will be honored at CSC's 68th annual convention, #CSCUnite25, from June 8-11 at the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort. The convention is held in conjunction with NACDA and Affiliates Convention Week.
Here is a closer look at these six awards winners:
MARY JO HAVERBECK TRAILBLAZER AWARD
Scottie Rodgers – Cotton Bowl Athletic Association/Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
Vice President of Communications
From his time as a student assistant in the University of Alabama athletics communication office in 1995 to his current position as Vice President of Communications of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association,
Scottie Rodgers has been a trailblazer in the profession, and within the College Sports Communicators organization.
As the first ethnic minority to serve in numerous roles at his various positions over almost 30 years, Rodgers also serves as an example, mentor and supporter to countless other individuals who have followed him in collegiate athletics.
Prior to joining the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association in 2020, his career path has taken him from Alabama to the SEC, the Ivy League, CSTV, the NCAA, Tulane and the Sun Belt Conference.
The award is named for the late athletic communications legend Mary Jo Haverbeck, long-time Penn State University sports communicators who broke barriers with her storytelling and advocacy for women's sports and the role of females and ethnic minorities in the athletic communications profession. During his time at the NCAA in the early 2000's as the main media relations contact for the NCAA Women's Basketball Division I Championship, Rodgers worked closely with the late Haverbeck who served on the Women's Final Four media relations committee.
Within CSC, Rodgers serves as chair of the organization's Inclusion Committee and oversees the CSC Diversity & Inclusion Fellowship program which is in partnership with the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. He also serves on the organization's Division I Cabinet (since September 2020), Special Awards Committee (since June 2014). He also is part of the Black College Sports Information Directors Leadership Council (since June 2015).
Among his impressive list of milestones or firsts within athletic communications is being the first Black person to hold a full-time position at: the communications department at the SEC office (March 1996); have a leading administrative role on the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship staff at the NCAA national office (2000-05); serve on the university relations staff at CSTV (formerly CBS Sports Network, now CBS Interactive) for three years (2005-08); lead the communications department at the Ivy League office (2008-16); hold the dual role of overseeing communications and external relations at the Ivy League office (2010-16); lead the communications department for Tulane Athletics (2016-17); hold a full-time in the Sun Belt Conference communications office (2017-20); hold a full-time position on the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association staff (2020-present); and to hold the full-time role overseeing communications for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (2020-present).
During the pandemic, Rodgers helped create CSC's Racial and Social Justice Initiative in June 2020. He was recognized with the organization's 25-Year Award in June 2020 and the President's Award twice in June 2021 and June 2024. Previously, he was chair of CSC's University Division Football Championship Subdivision Management Advisory Committee from 2010-14.
Rodgers serves on the Executive Board of the Black Sports Professionals North Texas Chapter as the marketing and communications committee chair and is a current member of National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Minority Opportunities Athletic Association (MOAA), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He is also on the advisory board for the Sport and Entertainment Management Program at Trevecca Nazarene University. His previous committee work has included serving on the College Football 150th Anniversary Communications/Public Affairs Committee (2017-19) and the NCAA Division I Women's Rowing Committee (2013-16).
Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award
Voted upon by the Special Awards Committee, the Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award is presented annually to an individual who is a pioneer in the field of athletic communications who has mentored and helped improve the level of diversity within College Sports Communicators.
JAKE WADE AWARD (MEDIA AWARD)
Craig Silver – CBS Sports
Coordinating Producer
For more than four decades, CBS Coordinating Producer Craig Silver has served as one of the nation's leading college, amateur and professional TV sports producers, winning 10 Emmys and countless other recognitions for his tremendous work in bringing to life through our TV screens so many memorable athletics moments. While his body of work includes Olympic Games, the Masters, the U.S. Open (tennis), the NBA and other major sporting events, Craig's signature work has been within intercollegiate athletics.
As the longtime producer of the CBS College Football Game of the Week, he has also made his mark on the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four and the NCAA Men's and Women's Track and Field Championships. Silver has been recognized for his commitment to college football by the National Football Foundation and the Sun Bowl for his contributions to that historic postseason game. While his professional accomplishments and accolades alone would be worthy of recognition, they do not reflect the entirety of Craig's impact on the athletic communications profession.
Silver has been supportive of College Sports Communicators, its members, and the mission of the organization, attending CSC conventions and assisting in whatever way requested.
Silver's professional roles include serving as CBS Sports production assistant in 1981, CBS Sports associate director from 1982-85, CBS Sports producer/director in 1986, Turner Network Television (TNT) NBA coordinating producer NBA from 1989-90, and CBS coordinating producer for college football (1993-present).
In addition to his 10 Emmy Awards, Silver received an award for Outstanding Live Sports Special for the Army-Navy game in 2017. He has been selected Legend of the Sun Bowl (2008) and earned the 2012 National Football Foundation Legacy Award for contributions to college football. In 2022, he received a UGA Chapter Contributions to Amateur Football Award.
Jake Wade Award
Presented annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in the media to the field of intercollegiate athletics. Voted on by the Special Awards Committee. The nominee must be a member of the media.
BOB KENWORTHY COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
Mary Beth Challoner – University of Toronto
Director, Intercollegiate Athletics & High Performance Sport
Mary Beth Challoner is being honored with the Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award for her civic and volunteer involvement both within and outside of the athletic communications profession.
Currently serving as the University of Toronto's Director of Intercollegiate & High Performance Sports, Challoner had previously served as manager of events, marketing and athletic communications at Toronto from 2007-22. Before joining the university staff, she held communications and event positions with Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (2004-07) and was the events and media relations coordinator for Athletics Canada from 1998-01.
Challoner has helped countless people with her work in the Good Shepherd Ministries Project, a downtown Toronto charity providing food, shelter, clothing for homeless and vulnerable people. She also volunteers with the Good Neighbour Project, a Canada-wide initiative, going grocery shopping for people with compromised health, seniors or single parents with no one to look after their children while they're out.
A former ice hockey student-athlete at Toronto, Challoner also volunteers as a youth girl's hockey coach with her niece's team on weekends.
In addition to her volunteer work in her community, Challoner volunteers at the University of Toronto at Gala Fundraisers for the university's athletics teams and volunteers at numerous levels within CSC.
The current CSC first vice president, Challoner is just the second Canadian to serve on the CSC Board and is the first Canadian female to serve. She is also the first Canadian to serve in CSC's officer rotation.
In her work with the Good Neighbour Project, Challoner said she got involved because she was looking for a way to help those who were now unable to help themselves with daily necessities. The service is not a foodbank, and it does not have big donation processes of food or financial assistance. Challoner started off as a delivery person, picking up groceries and dropping them off at people's homes. She was soon recruited to work the hotline and do the intakes for people calling in with requests.
"It's truly been an enriching experience. The pure joy and huge sense of relief from those we help is amazing and overwhelming at times," Challoner says. "We've been able to provide basic necessities to community members and we work virtually and are all relative strangers to each other and yet we've all come together to push through and help our neighbours when and where we can."
"Sometimes the desperation and anxiety on the other end of the phone is a lot to hear and can be emotionally taxing. Being able to turn that around into support and hope is so rewarding."
Challoner has served on multiple CSC committees, including the new media and technology, community projects and scholarship committees, while currently sitting on the Professional Development and Education, Advocacy and Canadian athletic council/governance committees. She has also been a CSC convention presenter and a webinar presenter.
Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award
Voted upon by the CSC Special Awards Committee, the Bob Kenworthy Community Service is presented annually to a CSC member for civic involvement, community service and accomplishments both within and outside the athletic communications profession.
CSC ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS (UNIVERSITY DIVISION and COLLEGE DIVISION)
Achievement Award
Voted upon by the CSC Special Awards Committee, the CSC Achievement Awards are presented annually to one University Division member and one College Division member who have made outstanding contributions to the field of athletic communications and provided exceptional service to their institution, conference or other intercollegiate athletics affiliated association. A nominee must have 10 or more years of experience in the athletic communications field and must not have served in the lead role overseeing an athletic communications office. This award is designed for an individual who has not been a recipient of any CSC major award in their careers (such as Warren Berg, Arch Ward or Hall of Fame).
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, UNIVERSITY DIVISION
Mike Cihon – Bowling Green
Associate Director for Strategic Communications
Mike Cihon enters his 29th year in the athletic communications office in 2024-25. After serving as an assistant director in the office for most of his first two-plus decades, he was named associate director in the summer of 2021 at his alma mater.
Cihon aids in the public-relations efforts for BGSU's 18-sport department of athletics, and among other duties is the primary contact for the Falcons' men's and women's soccer, women's basketball and softball programs.
Cihon returned to Bowling Green in the fall of 1996, after two years as the assistant director of communications at the Mid-American Conference office in Toledo. While there, he also served a two-month stint as interim director of communications.
At BGSU, Cihon worked with the women's basketball program for 27 of his first 28 years, including the 2006-07 season when the program advanced to the 'Sweet 16' of the NCAA Championships. He spent the 2007-08 academic year as the interim director of athletic communications, and served as the men's basketball contact that season, before returning to women's basketball duties in 2008-09.
A native of North Canton, Ohio, Cihon received his bachelor's degree in communications from BGSU in 1990, and earned a master's degree in sport administration from Kent State University in 1993. He spent two years as a graduate assistant in the KSU sports information office, and also was an intern at Michigan State University, where he was the primary contact for legendary coach (and BGSU Hall-of-Famer) Ron Mason's Spartan hockey program during the 1993-94 academic year.
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, COLLEGE DIVISION
Dain McKee – Middlebury College
Athletic Communications Associate
Dain McKee rejoined the athletic communications staff at Middlebury in January of 2022 as the athletic communications associate, after previously serving as the assistant director of athletic communications for six years.
His athletic communications resume includes stops as a student assistant at Ohio Northern University (1998-2003), assistant SID at Kenyon College (2005-2007), the College of Wooster (2007-2009), Christopher Newport University (Va.) (2009), Case Western Reserve University (2011-2013) and Middlebury College (2013-2019) and athletics communications associate at Middlebury (2022-present).
Having worked hundreds of NCAA and conference championship events on all three NCAA levels, McKee's involvement with CSC includes current service on the CSC Career Services Committee and on the CSC Membership Recognition Committee for the last three years. He previously was involved with the CSC Goodwill and Wellness Committee (2014-2019) and the former CSC Publications Committee (2005-2019).
Outside CSC, he serves on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (St. Mary's) Communications Committee (2021-present) and held two positions in EAST-COMM (formerly ECAC-SIDA), serving as treasurer (2018-2019) and assistant treasurer (2016-2018).
Among the honors McKee has earned are the 2019 NCAA Fall Division III and D3SIDA Recognition Award for outstanding storytelling - "Calling the Shots" featuring Middlebury's Chloe Levins, and being a 2003 Phi Epsilon Kappa inductee.
LESTER JORDAN AWARD
Bob Shreve – Gannon University
Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations
Named Gannon Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations in 2021,
Bob Shreve has been an active supporter of, and contributor to, the Academic All-America® program (AAA) since June 1992.
He served as a district coordinator from 1992-2009, before moving up to a national coordinator role for two years. In 2011, when the committee expanded and added positions working only with publicity (rather than have each national coordinator write their own releases), Shreve was on the ground floor and began working with Division II publicity and currently continues to serve on the AAA publicity staff as the program has expanded exponentially over the years.
Shreve previously served as Gannon's Director of Sports Information and Promotions from 1990-98 before assuming the same role at Edinboro University for the next 22 years. In all, Shreve has more than four decades of athletics experience.
Shreve's career has spanned a variety of athletics endeavors. In addition to his time as the sports information director at Gannon and Edinboro, he also served as the Mercyhurst University sports information director from 1984-88.
Awards and accolades have followed Shreve during his highly successful career. In 2018, he was inducted into the Metropolitan Erie Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Shreve was awarded the 2016 Irving T. Marsh Award from ECAC-SIDA (now EAST-COMM), which is given annually to a sports information director who exhibits excellence in the field of sports information.
The Erie, Pa., native has earned numerous CSC awards for his publications, including three first in the nation honors for men's basketball media guides at Gannon, plus first in the nation awards for football media guides at both Mercyhurst and Edinboro. In addition, he has helped publicize numerous All-Americans, including Gannon basketball student-athlete Troy Nesmith, who was recognized as the national player of the year, and two-time Harlon Hill Trophy national finalist Trevor Harris of Edinboro.
A 1980 graduate of Notre Dame, Shreve began his career in sports information in 1982 at Frostburg State College before moving onto roles at Frostburg State, Mercyhurst and then professional baseball (two years as the general manager of the Erie Orioles, the Baltimore Orioles Class A affiliiate) before returning to college athletics as West Chester, Gannon (until 1998), and then to Edinboro.
Shreve was the long-time public address announcer for the Erie SeaWolves – the Class AA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers – until assuming duties of the official scorer this year.
Lester Jordan Award
Named after the program's founder, the Lester Jordan Award is presented to an individual for exemplary service to the Academic All-America Program and the promotion of the ideals of being a student-athlete. Nominations are solicited by and voted upon by the Academic All-America Core Committee.