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Log your volunteer hours at CollegeSportsCommunicators.com/Volunteer15
Volunteer 15 is an initiative launched in 2014-15 to get College Sports Communicators members more involved in their communities. CSC members promote the great civic works done by their athletics teams but there is no promotion, or very little, about our members doing community service either with these teams or independently. CSC members are encouraged to volunteer at least 15 hours of community service each academic year, then submit your hours using the online form at
CollegeSportsCommunicators.com/Volunteer15. CSC committee service hours from meetings and other activities
can be submitted.
Any questions about the program can be sent to
Jeremy Rosenthal at
jeremy.Rosenthal@athletics.utexas.edu or
Liz Wacienga at
lwacienga@ncaa.org.
#Volunteer15 Soars to New Heights in 11th Year
by Liz Wacienga – NCAA, Assistant Director of Media Coordination and Statistics // Goodwill and Wellness Committee Member - Volunteer 15 Chair
SEE FULL LIST OF VOLUNTEER 15 PARTICIPANTS
The College Sports Communicators #Volunteer15 program saw 8,576 hours of community service during the 2024-25 academic year. With 98,147 hours accumulated over eleven years, the 100,000 mark is on the horizon during year twelve.
The #Volunteer15 program is hosted by the CSC Goodness and Wellness committee, who also donated $6,500 to Frontline Outreach in Orlando. Through the annual convention 5K fun run and 2 mile walk, the committee has donated over $63,000 to communities since the inaugural race in 2009.
Participants of the #Volunteer15 program continue to give back to their communities in diverse capacities including serving on committees and board positions, public servants, leading church production teams and nurseries, beautifying their neighborhoods and so much more. It comes as no surprise that participants found ways to incorporate sports by volunteering at local events, coaching and officiating youth leagues, and aiding media coordination for professional sporting events.
Nine individuals logged over 200 hours throughout the year. Those individuals are Jay Stancil (Appalachian Athletic Conference), Patrick Murphy (Colorado School of Mines), Katie Gonzales (Illinois Wesleyan University), Cindy Potter (Columbia College), Anthony Martini (NJIT), Joe Matthews (Emory & Henry University), Blake Timm (Pacific University), Judy Willson (Geneva College) and Travis Jarome (Jackson State).
For the first time since 2019, a new individual sat atop the leaderboard. Jay Stancil accumulated an astonishing 1,047 hours working with various committees, tournament coordination and his local church.
“Helping others has been ingrained in me since I was little, so much so that I want to do whatever I can to help someone. And if I can’t do it myself, I will help find someone who can,” said Stancil. “I don’t view volunteering as something I get to do, but something that is just apart of every day life. I simply want to leave things better than how I found it.”
For the second straight year, NCAA Division III led the way with 32 participants followed by NCAA Division I with 24.
The #Volunteer15 program is an initiative launched in 2014-15 by the Goodwill and Wellness Committee to get College Sports Communicators members more involved in their communities. CSC members promote the great civic works done by their athletics teams but there is no promotion, or very little, about our members doing community service either with these teams or independently. CSC members are encouraged to volunteer at least 15 hours of community service each academic year, then submit their hours using the online form at CollegeSportsCommunicators.com/Volunteer15. CSC committee service hours from meetings and other activities can be submitted.
Any questions about the program can be sent to Jeremy Rosenthal at
Jeremy.Rosenthal@athletics.utexas.edu
Volunteer hours can be accrued from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. Members can log hours online at any time throughout the year at
CollegeSportsCommunicators.com/Volunteer15.
As part of the Goodwill and Wellness Committee's efforts, students from Frontline Outreach joined us at #CSCUnite25 in Orlando to hear from industry experts and learn about getting into college sports communications! Watch the video below to hear from these students and view a recap of their session:
2024-25 Volunteer 15 Breakdown
| Total Number of Participants |
93 |
| Total Number of Hours Logged |
8,576 |
| CSC Staff |
1 |
| NCAA Division I |
24 |
| NCAA Division II |
19 |
| NCAA Division III |
32 |
| NAIA |
7 |
| NJCAA |
3 |
| Advocate Members |
2 |
| Other |
5 |
|
|
| 200+ hours |
9 |
| 101-200 hours |
16 |
| 51-100 hours |
21 |
| 30-50 hours |
17 |
| 1-29 hours |
30 |
2024-25 Volunteer 15 Participants
200+ hours
Katie Gonzales, Illinois Wesleyan University
Travis Jarome, Jackson State
Anthony Martini, NJIT Athletics
Joe Matthews, Emory & Henry University
Patrick Murphy, Colorado School of Mines
Cindy Potter, Columbia College
Jay Stancil, Appalachian Athletic Conference
Blake Timm, Pacific University
Judy Willson, Geneva College
101-200 hours
Sam Atkinson, Gallaudet University
Rob Carolla, Pro Volleyball Federation
Jonah Goldberg, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Geoffrey Henson, The University of Olivet
John Kean, Missouri S&T
Barb Kowal, College Sports Communicators
Brett Marhanka, Wheaton College (IL)
Dain McKee, Middlebury College
Frank Mercogliano, University of New Mexico
Chris Mitchell, GCSD
Ali Paquette, Middlebury College
Bill Powers, Hawai‘i Pacific University
Liz Wacienga, NCAA
Jill Weigel, Neumann University
Drew Wilson, Averett University
Ali Wilson, American Rivers Conference
51-100 hours
Robert Anderson, Creighton
Dave Beyer, Mississippi University for Women
Amie Canfield, UMass Dartmouth
Connor Gahagan, University of Tennessee
Ed Haas, Collegiate Water Polo Association
Jim Howell, Grand Canyon University
Ashleigh Jones, Denison
Nick Joos, Iowa State University
Danny Kambel, Spartanburg Methodist College
Devin Knight, Savannah College of Art & Design
Michael Kobylanski, Albertus Magnus College
Dick Lipe, Bentley University
Brian Lovellette, SLIAC
Jordan Modjeski, Saint John's University (MN)
Ryan Prickett, Fort Hays State University
Jeremy Rosenthal, Texas
Chris Sabato, Willamette University
DaKota Saeler, Hendrix College
Maria Slovikovski, Ohio State University
Brandy Thurston, SUNY Morrisville
Sammi Wellman, Riverside City College
30-50 hours
Danny Barnts, CCAA
Rob Bentley, Ferris State University
Tommy Chasanoff, University of the Cumberlands – NAIA
Joe Flaherty, Central College
Mark Fleming, Moravian University
Amanda Green, Eckerd
Matt Kennedy, Colorado College
Seth Kincaid, Fort Hays State University
Matt Klinkenberg, Harvard
Nick Kornder, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
Chris Masters, University of Illinois Chicago
Mark Mentone, Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference
Anthony O'Hagan, Monroe University – Bronx
Jeff Schwartz, North Dakota State University
Steve Sheridan, Union College
Philip Tor, Harvard
Mike Williams, Illinois State University
1-29 hours
Brian Alden, South Carolina
Ken Badylak, Kentucky Wesleyan College
Nathan Baliva, Monmouth College
Ashley Birchmeier, Hanover College
Steve Bradley, Roberts Wesleyan University
Isaac Comelli, CSU Bakersfield
Amanda Cover, NJCAA
Justin DeWeese, Goshen College
Fran Elia, Cortland
Hillary Fisher, Anne Arundel Community College
Michael Hawkins, Francis Marion University
Liz Holbrook, Western Michigan
Brittany Iamele, Eckerd College
Heather Kennedy, St. Mary's University (TX)
Ryan Klinkner, Saint John's University
Emily Loux, MASCAC
Josh Manck, Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Chris OConnor, CCSU
Ryan Pickens, Utah Valley
Cadie Pierce
Ari Ross, University of Rochester
Len Skoros, Hofstra University
Cassie Smith, University of Pittsburgh
Cody Soto, Baylor
Don Stoner, Augsburg University
Amy Villa, San José State University
Jackson Wagner, University of Montana
Josh Walfish, Roosevelt University
Steve Wideen, Kalamazoo College
Jenna Willhoit, University of Dayton
Volunteer 15 Yearly Breakdown
| Year |
Participants |
Hours |
CSC Staff |
NCAA DI |
NCAA DII |
NCAA DIII |
NAIA |
Two-Year |
Canadian |
Advocate |
Other |
200+
hours |
101-200 hours |
51-100 hours |
30-50 hours |
Leader |
| 2014-15 |
61 |
3546 |
4 |
15 |
16 |
25 |
1 |
0 |
|
|
|
4 |
11 |
19 |
32 |
224 - Chris Wenzler |
| 2015-16 |
64 |
3864 |
4 |
20 |
11 |
23 |
2 |
4 |
|
|
|
4 |
11 |
26 |
36 |
270 - Jacob VanRyn |
| 2016-17 |
72 |
5679 |
4 |
26 |
15 |
22 |
5 |
1 |
|
|
|
6 |
16 |
30 |
45 |
1210 - Edward Haas |
| 2017-18 |
75 |
6357.25 |
4 |
23 |
13 |
26 |
6 |
1 |
|
|
|
7 |
14 |
27 |
42 |
1032 - Ira Thor |
| 2018-19 |
80 |
8092.75 |
4 |
23 |
18 |
22 |
11 |
2 |
|
|
|
7 |
18 |
32 |
50 |
1696 - Edward Haas |
| 2019-20 |
136 |
10,252 |
4 |
42 |
24 |
47 |
13 |
3 |
|
|
|
7 |
15 |
22 |
35 |
1,740 - Edward Haas |
| 2020-21 |
116 |
11,338 |
3 |
36 |
22 |
39 |
8 |
1 |
|
|
|
11 |
16 |
19 |
28 |
1,700 - Edward Haas |
| 2021-22 |
148 |
12,892 |
2 |
32 |
34 |
47 |
19 |
7 |
|
|
|
16 |
14 |
28 |
29 |
1,356 - Edward Haas |
| 2022-23 |
136 |
13,360 |
3 |
34 |
29 |
40 |
15 |
7 |
|
|
|
17 |
15 |
34 |
25 |
1,300 - Edward Haas |
| 2023-24 |
162 |
13,920 |
1 |
52 |
32 |
45 |
14 |
7 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
17 |
19 |
25 |
31 |
1,590 - Edward Haas |
| 2024-25 |
93 |
8,576 |
1 |
24 |
19 |
32 |
7 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
9 |
16 |
21 |
17 |
1,047 - Jay Stancil |