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Special Awards Program
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Lifetime Achievement Award
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25-Year Award
2026 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 CSCUNITE26 convention in Las Vegas (June 7-10).
By Jeff Hodges, University of North Alabama / CSC Special Awards Committee Chair
College Sports Communicators concludes its week-long announcements of the 2026 Special Award recipients by honoring 15 former and current members with Lifetime Achievement Award honors and 25 with 25-Year Awards for a quarter century of full-time service (or more) in the college sports communications profession. With this year’s honorees, CSC will have honored 267 all-time Lifetime Achievement Award winners and 564 honorees who spent at least 25 years in the profession.
The CSC Lifetime Achievement Awards are presented to members for distinguished career service who have served at least 25 years in the profession and who are retiring, have retired, or are leaving the athletic communications profession.
Receiving their Lifetime Achievement Awards this year are:
CSC’s
25-Year Awards are presented to CSC members who have completed 25 years full-time (or more) in the sports communications profession (as of July, 2026) or who have been a member for 25 years. A complete list of 25-year Award recipients for 2026 is below.
All of the 2026 CSC special award winners will be honored at CSC’s 69th annual convention, #CSCUnite26, from June 7-10 at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The convention is held in conjunction with NACDA and Affiliates Convention Week.
A closer look at the honorees:
CSC Lifetime Achievement Award
Presented to individuals who have served at least 25 years in the athletics communications profession (as of July 2025) who are retiring or leaving the profession. Years of service vetted by the Special Awards Committee. Members may self-nominate for this award.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
J.D. Campbell – Indiana University
For 37 years,
J.D. Campbell shaped and influenced intercollegiate athletics as he managed strategic communications efforts for five institutions and helped bolster the image of student-athletes, coaches, administrators and institutions he served.
He spent 16 years overseeing all communications activities for the Indiana University men’s basketball program. More than 30 of his students, interns or full-time assistants have been active in CSC and many are running their own operation at various schools or organizations. Forty of the students he taught are currently employed in various positions throughout the sports industry.
With the Hoosiers, he worked with coaches Kelvin Sampson, Dan Dakich, Tom Crean (2016 Big Ten Coach of the Year), Archie Miller and Mike Woodson. IU won Big Ten Championships in 2013 and 2016, made its only three appearances in the Sweet Sixteen since 2003 (2012, 2013 and 2016) and was the top ranked team in the country for most of the 2012-13 season.
Campbell arrived in Bloomington after spending seven years at Bowling Green State University, where he served as Assistant Athletics Director for Communications and also oversaw the University’s licensing program.
A native of Las Vegas, Nev., Campbell received a degree in communications from Kansas Newman in 1986, and his master’s degree in sports administration from Xavier in 1994. He was an All-American baseball player at KNC in 1985 and also played two seasons at Taft (Calif.) College leading them to the California JC State Championship Tournament in 1983. He was the 1982 Nevada American Legion Baseball Player of the Year.
Campbell went to BGSU from Emporia State, where he was Director of University Public Affairs and Marketing (2000) for one year and SID for six years (1993-99). Campbell began his career as the SID at Johnson County CC from 1986-89 and was sports information and promotions coordinator at Northern Kentucky from 1989-93.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Alan Cannon – Texas A&M University
After 44 years of telling the stories of Texas A&M Aggie Athletics,
Alan Cannon retired in June of 2025.
He started working for his alma mater in 1981 while going to school. He went from being a student sports information assistant in baseball to being the executive associate athletic director for external operations.
A 1984 marketing graduate of Texas A&M, Cannon actually began his career in sports information as a high school intern at SMU under the tutelage of CSC Hall of Famer’s Bob Condron and Maxey Parrish. A walk-on baseball player at Texas A&M in 1981, he served as a student assistant in the sports information office before being hired in the summer of 1985 as full-time assistant sports information director. After one season on the diamond, baseball coach Tom Chandler wanted Cannon as his student baseball SID. Cannon was hired as an assistant SID in 1985 and served in that capacity for five years before being named SID.
Cannon served as assistant SID from the summer of 1985 to spring of 1989 when he was promoted to Sports Information Director.
Promoted to Assistant AD in 1999, Cannon was then promoted to Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations in 2003. In 2024, he was promoted to Executive Associate Athletic Director for External Operations - where his role expanded to include overseeing 12th Man Creative and 12th Man Productions, the photographers and the marketing group.
Currently, he is in a part-time role at Texas A&M as special assistant to the athletic director/historian/liaison to former players.
A recipient of the Scoop Hudgens Lifetime Sports Information Director Award in 1999 from the All-American Football Foundation, he served as President of the College Sports Communicators for 2002-03.
He was inducted into the CSC Hall of Fame in 2014, and in 2018 he received the Arch Ward Award given to CSC members who have made an outstanding contribution to the field of college sports information and has brought dignity and prestige to the profession. He also received a CSC 25-Year Award in 2010.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Jim Daves – University of Virginia
Jim Daves was named Virginia’s assistant athletics director for athletic communications in December of 2005 and continued to serve there until his retirement in 2025. He previously served in the same capacity at the University of Washington from 1992 to 2005. He was an assistant/associate sports information director at the University of Notre Dame from 1986 to 1992. He served as the director of communications for the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1985-86.
At Virginia, Daves oversaw a staff of six full-time assistant athletic communications directors. He was the media contact for the Cavaliers’ football, men’s golf , women’s golf teams and track and field and cross country teams.
The Virginia media relations operation was named a recipient of the “Super 11” Award by the Football Writers Association of America for the 2012 season. The award is presented to 11 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision media relations departments that were deemed consistently exemplary and above and beyond the call of duty.
While at Washington he was a member of the NCAA Men’s Final Four Communications Committee (1997-2004). He served as media director at various NCAA Championships including (basketball) 1995 Men’s Final Four, 1993 West Regional, 1999 and 2003 1st and 2nd Rounds; (gymnastics) 1997 Regional (women’s golf) 2002 NCAA Championship (men’s golf) 2003 West Regional.
Daves helped coordinate media relations at 19 bowl games while working at Notre Dame, Washington and Virginia. That list includes the Rose Bowl (twice), Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Cotton Bowl. His publication and feature writing have been honored numerous times with “Best in the Nation” citations from CSC.
At Washington he co-authored two books on Husky athletics: The Glory of Washington and Husky Stadium.
Daves received a 25-Year Award from the College Sports Communicators in 2011.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD & CSC HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2026
Jerry Emig – Ohio State University
A member of the College Sports Communicators Hall of Fame Class of 2026,
Jerry Emig is also receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award upon his retirement from the profession. Emig is in his 33rd year in the sports information/athletic communications profession, his 23rd year at Ohio State and his 15th as the core media relations contact for the Ohio State football program.
A tremendous mentor and leader for the Buckeyes, Emig will officially retire from OSU at the end of February 2026. Since taking over football communications in 2011, Emig led communications for two national championships (2014, 2024), five Big Ten Championships and seven College Football Playoff berths.
His work experience includes positions with three universities (Southern Illinois-Carbondale, Temple University and Ohio State), a local public relations firm and two state commissions (the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission and the Ohio Board of Regents).
Emig began his SID career at Southern Illinois-Carbondale for three years after his 1983 graduation from Murray State University and two years as a graduate assistant at Ohio State while pursuing his master’s degree. He then spent six years at Temple University (1989-95) before returning to Ohio State in 1995 for a four-and-a-half year stint.
Emig then worked for the public relations firm and two state organizations for seven years and returned to Ohio State in 2007.
At OSU, Emig took over SID responsibilities for the football program in 2011 and worked the 400th football game of his career at the 2025 Big Ten Championship. Emig has fostered the Ohio State football beat into one of the largest in the country, issuing 300-400 credentials per football game (with reaches to 500 for some of the most prominent games). The Ohio State football sports information staff received a Super 11 Award from the Football Writers Association of America in 2017 for SID excellence.
In 2023, Emig earned OSU’s Higher Purpose' Award, the most prestigious award offered by the Ohio State athletics department and selected by the OSU Athletics senior staff.
Among his career highlights: media relations responsibilities for Ohio State’s run to the first College Football Playoff national championship in 2014, a repeat run and CFP championship in 2025, 19 total CFP and/or bowl games, 16 Ohio State vs. Michigan football games, seven Big Ten football championship games, five Rose Bowls (all Ohio State wins!), five Sugar Bowls, two BCS national championship games, four Fiesta Bowls and one Orange Bowl. He has also worked dozens of NCAA and conference tournament games, travelled with basketball teams to Japan and South Africa and attended hundreds of collegiate sporting events.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Scott Guise – York College (posthumous honor)
After serving for 30 years at York College, Director of Athletic Communications
Scott Guise passed away in December, 2025.
Scott joined York College in 1995 and spent the next three decades shaping the story of Spartan athletics. He worked tirelessly to ensure every team and every student-athlete got the recognition they deserved.
He was there for some of York College’s most defining athletic moments, including the men’s basketball team’s 2005 Final Four run, capturing the achievements that brought pride to students, alumni, and Spartan fans alike. More importantly, he never overlooked the small moments. Countless student-athletes have shared how much it meant when Scott would reach out after a great play or a hard-fought game, even when he wasn’t on the road with the team.
His care was constant, quiet, and unmistakably genuine.
In recent years, Scott faced significant medical challenges, yet he remained a steady presence at athletic events, either behind a camera, on a headset, or even on his laptop while receiving treatment. His loyalty to Spartan athletics never wavered. In recognition of this, Scott was named the 2025 recipient of the Middle Atlantic Conference Giant Steps Award, honoring those who inspire others through perseverance and service.
Guise received a 25-Year Award from the College Sports Communicators in 2020.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Doug Hauschild – University of Dayton
Although he is retired,
Doug Hauschild continues to serve the University of Dayton as athletics historian, and works with special projects.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is the fifth major award that Hauschild has received from CSC, picking up a 25-Year Award in 2008, the Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award in 2009, CSC Hall of Fame membership in 2020 and the Lester Jordan Award for his outstanding service to the Academic All-America® program in 2021.
Hauschild truly made his mark as a game day host. He served as the Media Coordinator for 103 NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament games at UD Arena since taking over as SID in 1982. Hauschild was part of a tournament hosting team at Dayton that made NCAA men’s basketball history in March 2001 by hosting 10 postseason games in eight days at UD Arena, a feat never-before done in college basketball. Other venues have hosted NCAA and NIT in the same year, but no venue or school had ever done so simultaneously. UD was host to nine NCAA teams between the Opening, First and Second Rounds as well as games of the National Invitational Tournament.
Hauschild was also the head coach for fast-pitch softball at the University of Dayton from 1981 to 1983 and still holds the school record for career winning percentage.
Prior to his time at Dayton, he worked as Publicity Assistant for the Cincinnati Reds (1980-81).
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Ken Johnson, Jr. – Massachusetts Institute of Technology (posthumous honor)
Ken Johnson Jr., director of communications, promotions, and marketing in the MIT Department of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation (DAPER), passed away in March, 2024. He was 47 years old.
Well-known and respected in the Sports Information/Athletics Communications field, Johnson was in his 26th year in the profession and his eighth season at MIT at the time of his passing. In 2019, he was the recipient of the 2019 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Excellence in Communications Award for NCAA Division III Track and Field. In addition, Johnson was elected to the D3SIDA Board of Directors in the summer of 2019 and served as the Region 1 representative from 2019-2021. In that role, he was also a member of the D3SIDA Divisional Cabinet within the College Sports Communicators governance. Johnson served as the First Vice-President of the Eastern Athletic Communications Association (East-Comm) and was in his second year of a four-year term on the East-Comm Executive Board. Last June, he received a College Sports Communicators award for 25 years of service in the athletic communications field.
Prior to his arrival at MIT, Johnson served as the Assistant Director of Athletics for Communications at Assumption University for five years. He was previously the Sports Information Director at Manhattanville College, the University of Bridgeport, and Saint Anselm College and began his career as an intern at Brown University.
Johnson was honored by the College Sports Communicators for his 25-year career in the field in 2023. Johnson was also the second vice president of the Eastern Athletic Communications Association and the recipient of the 2019 U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association Excellence in Communications Award for NCAA Division III Track and Field.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Ann King – Russell Sage College (posthumous honor)
A decorated veteran college athletic communications leader who was a passionate advocate for the profession and its people,
Ann King, 59, lost her courageous and public battle with cancer in September, 2023.
King, who was in her 14th year of service at Russell Sage College as Director of Athletic Communications in upstate New York (Troy), dedicated her career to college sports communications for nearly 40 years, working at NCAA Division III institutions.
King was inducted into the CSC Hall of Fame (2006) and earned the Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award (2018) for her impact as she supported and influenced colleagues and her student-athletes. The Haverbeck Award honors those who are a pioneer in the field of sports information and have mentored and helped improve the level of ethnic and gender diversity within the organization.
Ann also earned CSC’s college division’s highest honor, the Warren Berg Award, in 2003, becoming the first female to win that recognition. She was a 25-Year Award recipient in 2011.
King was a past president of EAST-COMM, the Eastern Athletic Communications Association (formerly ECAC-SIDA), serving as the organization’s president in 2003-04. She earned two of the highest honors from the organization: the Irving T. Marsh Award (2007) for outstanding service in sports communications, and the Pete Nevins Award for Distinguished Achievement (2020).
In mid-September 2023, King was recognized as part of the Empire 8 Conference 25th Anniversary Legends Series.
While serving on the CSC board of directors from 1999-2002, she was just the tenth female named to the board in the 63-year history of the organization. She then became the first female president of the Division III athletic communicators (D3SIDA) organization for the 2019-2020 academic year. In the spring of 2012, King was named to the NCAA’s Division III governance-CSC strategic communications committee to explore issues and topics affecting D3 SIDs, and was elected as the group’s chair. She also served as a member of the NCAA Media Coordination Advisory Board from 2012-2015.
In the early 2000’s, King was one of the founders of FAME (Female Athletic Media Relations Executives), which then evolved to WoSIDA and is now CSC Women, an active group in the organization whose mission is to discuss issues facing women in the sports media relations field and to develop appropriate strategies and education to deal with those issues.
She came to Sage in the summer of 2009 as its first full-time sports information director after serving 17 years as the SID at The College of New Jersey. Prior to her arrival at TCNJ, she served for six years as SID at her alma mater, Drew University in Madison, NJ.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD & 25-YEAR AWARD
Chad Moller – University of Missouri
Chad Moller led Missouri’s communications office for the final 13 years of his tenure at the school, capping an outstanding 24 years of service to his alma mater. Moller was an outstanding mentor and guide to countless interns and staff who have gone on to long careers in sports communications, both collegiately and at the professional levels.
Including his two years as an assistant sports information director at Baylor to begin his career in the business, Chad has also earned the distinction of being a CSC 25-Year Award honoree this year.
A 2022 inductee into the state of Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Moller began his athletic communications career in 1994 as assistant director of sports information at Baylor. In 1996 he became the assistant director of athletic media relations at Missouri and held that title until 2002, when he was elevated to director of athletic media relations. From 2007-11 he served as assistant athletics director for media relations at Missouri and from 2011-20 he was associate athletics director for strategic communications.
At Baylor, he handled volleyball, track & Field, helped on football, and oversaw the production of the football and basketball game-day programs. He also befriended former Baylor standout and Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson and was part of his entourage at the 1994 Olympic Trials.
In his time at Mizzou, in football alone, he promoted 12 First Team All-Americans, a Heisman Trophy finalist, a Mackey Award winner, 81 first team all-conference selections, 11 conference Player of the Year winners, two conference Coach of the Year awards, promoted then-No. 1 Mizzou football in 2007 and earned Best in Nation for media guides twice.
On football game days, he oversaw eight full-time employees and 20 undergraduate students. He also accommodated working media, which numbered anywhere from 150 to 300 members. Plus, Moller had to ensure information made its way to the PA announcer, and the scoreboard operator.
Moller certainly earned respect throughout the athletic department and through print and broadcasting outlets as he rolled up his sleeves and poured his heart into the Mizzou SID office. For 26 years he promoted Mizzou’s 20 sports programs and athletes to the media, managing publicity, promotional and outreach/marketing efforts by telling stories and building relationships with key internal and external constituents.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Marc Ryan – University of Minnesota
After 36 years as part of the University of Minnesota Athletics Department,
Marc Ryan retired in June. The Senior Associate Athletics Director had been a staple with Gopher Athletics and was the most tenured employee in the department at the time of his retirement.
Ryan was a sport administrator for nine teams: women’s cross country, men’s cross country, women’s swimming & diving, men’s swimming & diving, women’s indoor track & field, women’s outdoor track & field, men’s outdoor track & field, gymnastics and softball.
He also served as the director for both the Gopher Athletics Internship Program, and the Gopher Graduation Program, which is an initiative to help former Gopher student-athletes return to Minnesota and complete their undergraduate degrees. In addition, Ryan was a member of the Gopher Athletics Drug & Alcohol Review Committee. He was also the athletic department’s liaison to housing and residential life, where he coordinated the program’s reserved, on-campus residence hall space for all 22 sports.
Ryan began his Gopher career in 1989 as an Assistant Sports Information Director for the Men’s Athletics Department under Hall of Fame Gopher sports information director Bob Peterson. Ryan was named Director of Media Relations when Peterson retired in 1994 and during his tenure, he received 22 awards for excellence in publications from the College Sports Communicators.
In 1999, Ryan was promoted to Assistant Athletics Director for External Relations and oversaw media relations, GopherSports.com, marketing/sales, photography/video and the spirit squad.
Ryan was the Associate Athletics Director for Sport Administration and Championships from 2004-10. In that role he served as the primary sport administrator for nine teams: football, women’s cross country, men’s cross country, women’s indoor track & field, men’s indoor track & field, women’s outdoor track & field, men’s outdoor track & field, women’s swimming & diving and men’s swimming & diving.
Prior to his time at Minnesota, Ryan was an Assistant Sports Information Director at Villanova University from 1987-89. He also served as Sports Information Director, Cross Country Coach and Assistant Track Coach at Macalester College from 1985-87.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Bob Shreve – Gannon University
Bob Shreve was named Gannon Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations in August, 2021 and continued to serve there until his retirement.
Shreve was no stranger to Gannon, previously serving as the University’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 had over 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 also awarded the Irving T. Marsh Award in 2016, which is given annually to a sports information director who exhibits excellence in the field of sports information.
Shreve received a CSC 25-Year Award in 2010 and was the recipient of the Lester Jordan Award in 2025 for his service to the organization’s Academic All-America® program. He also earned numerous CSC awards for his publications, including several First in the Nation for Men’s Basketball Media Guides at Gannon three times, plus First in the Nation for Football Media Guides at both Mercyhurst and Edinboro.
A 1980 graduate of Notre Dame, Shreve began his career in sports information in 1982 at Frostburg State College. After two years at Frostburg State, he spent four years as the sports information director at Mercyhurst before moving into professional baseball.
He would spend two years as the general manager of the Erie Orioles, a Class A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles in the New York-Penn League, before returning to the sports information profession as the sports information director at West Chester.
After a year at West Chester, Shreve returned to his hometown in 1990, taking over as the sports information director at Gannon. He worked with the Golden Knights until 1998, when he left to assume the same role at Edinboro.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Ray Simmons – University of Southern Indiana
Ray Simmons was named the University of Southern Indiana Director of Athletic Communication in August of 1989 and continued to work in the athletic communication field for more than 35 years at USI. He served as Southern Indiana Athletics’ media liaison and primary media contact for the men’s basketball and baseball programs.
During his tenure at USI, Simmons helped to promote and publicize four NCAA Division II national players of the year, more than 44 All-Americans, and 14 Academic All-Americans. He also has helped to publicize the USI’s team successes such as the USI baseball 2010 and 2014 national championships; men’s basketball 1995 national championship; the 1994, 2004, 2019 men’s basketball Elite Eight teams; the 1997 women’s basketball national finalist team; and the 2007, 2016, and 2018 baseball runs to the national championship series.
Simmons, who has helped guide USI’s transition to Division I, was the host site media coordinator when USI and the City of Evansville hosted the 2002, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2022 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Elite Eight and the 2004 and 2009 NCAA Division II Men’s and Women’s Cross Country National Championships. He also was the media liaison to CBS Sports for the national championship events.
Outside of his University duties, Simmons has assisted with media relations as a press officer at the 1994 and 1995 United States Olympic Festivals and as a sports information coordinator at the 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000 NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Elite Eights.
The native of Litchfield, Illinois, came to USI after a year as the assistant sports information director at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, where he worked with Division I men’s and women’s soccer, women’s basketball, men’s and women’s tennis, volleyball, and baseball.
A member of the College Sports Communicators, Simmons was the chair of the CSC NCAA Legislation Liaison Committee for five years (2001-05); was an at-large representative on the College Division Management Advisory Committee (2016-18); a member of the Charity Committee (2006-07) and served two terms as a member the inaugural D2SIDA Board of Directors (2006-12), authoring the board’s constitution. Simmons also was elected to two terms on the USI Administrative Senate (2011-14; 2021-22).
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Mike Stamus – Georgia Institute of Technology
Mike Stamus had been a part of the Georgia Tech Athletic Association staff since June of 1983, most recently serving as the associate director for communications & public relations. After 42 years of service to Georgia Tech, Stamus retired from Georgia Tech on July 1, 2025.
He coordinated the communications activities for men’s basketball and men’s golf, and served as chairman of the Georgia Tech Sports Hall of Fame Committee.
During his time at Tech, he served as the local media coordinator for three NCAA Final Fours (2002, 2007, 2013) and five NCAA regional events (1996, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2012) in men’s basketball, the 2013 NCAA Championship and three NCAA regionals (2002, 2007, 2010) in men’s golf, and several NCAA baseball regionals hosted by Georgia Tech.
He had served on the NCAA media coordination committee for the Men’s Final Four since 2008.
He is also the official scorer for Atlanta Braves home games, a role he has held since April 1999.
Stamus received a 25-Year Award from the College Sports Communicators in 2019.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Chuck Sullivan – American Athletic Conference (posthumous honor)
The American Conference mourned the loss of assistant commissioner of communications
Chuck Sullivan in November, 2025. Sullivan, who was 54 years old, was one of the most well-respected communications professionals in collegiate athletics. He first joined the conference staff in August of 2007 as the Big East Conference’s director of communications. After the American’s reconstitution in 2013, he was promoted to assistant commissioner for communications in January of 2015 and oversaw the communications and external operations for the American and its 20 Division I sports. In addition to supporting the promotion of the American’s student-athletes and sports, Sullivan supervised and mentored dozens of communications and external relations professionals over his time with the conference office and previously at the institution level.
A native of Stoughton, Massachusetts, Sullivan served on the media coordination staff for a multitude of College Football Playoff National Championship games, the NCAA Final Four and the BCS National Championship.
Before coming to the American, Sullivan spent time at all levels of the NCAA, including spells at Harvard from 2003-07, Bryant from 1999-2003, UMass Boston from 1995-99 and Princeton from 1993-95.
Sullivan’s award-winning career included numerous honors, including a Best In The Nation Award, three Best Cover Awards, three Second In The Nation Awards and three Third In The Nation Awards. He was an ex-officio member of the board of directors of the Football Writers Association of America, has served on the Academic All-America Committee of the College Sports Communicators and had been a regular presenter and panelist at regional and national conventions.
Sullivan received a CSC 25-Year Award in 2020.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Chris Wenzler – John Carroll University (posthumous honor)
Chris Wenzler was the leader of John Carroll University’s Sports Information Department for more than 30 years, prior to his death in June, 2020.
Wenzler was honored by the College Sports Communicators in 2016 with a 25-Year Award. In 2018 he was named the recipient of the Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award and in 2021 he was posthumously inducted into the CSC Hall of Fame.
He was named to the Sports Information post just four months after receiving his diploma in 1990, and quickly became a fixture in the athletic department. In August 2008, Wenzler was given additional responsibilities as John Carroll’s first Assistant Athletic Director for Communications. For his extraordinary efforts on behalf of JCU Athletics and his service to John Carroll and its students, he was elected to the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
When Wenzler took over the sports information office on September 15, 1990, the staff consisted of just three students and the office equipment included just one computer (an Apple Macintosh SE), a dot matrix printer, a typewriter, and a phone. His wife Melissa often served as an extra set of hands.
Over the last 30 years, he built an office that now boasts more than 40 student employees, a graduate assistant, and the latest in multimedia and technological equipment.
In recent years, Wenzler pushed John Carroll athletics into the realm of multimedia opportunities. In 2006, he became one of the first sports information directors at the NCAA Division III level to implement a 40-event video webcast schedule for the internet. He was also proactive in securing a multi-sport broadcast schedule with SportsTime Ohio that started in the fall of 2007. In 2013, Wenzler advanced JCU’s video offerings through a partnership with Boxcast for the streaming of athletic events.
25-Year Award Recipients
Congratulations to the following group of athletic communications professionals who have reached the quarter century of service to the profession! Please click on each recipients name to be brought to their biographical information.
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 CSCUNITE26 convention in Las Vegas (June 7-10).
25-Year Award
Presented to CSC members who have completed 25 years in the athletics communication profession (as of July, 2026). Vetted and voted on by the Special Awards Committee.
How do I calculate my 25-year service to College Sports Communicators?
To receive a 25-year award at the CSC UNITE convention, you must have been in the sports communications profession full time and/or an active member of the organization for 25 years, at the time of the annual June convention. Your 25-year total must be met by July 1. Thus if you started full time work as of July 1, 2001, your 25 years would be completed in June of 2026 and you would receive the award this academic year — and be saluted leading up to the 2026 convention. If you started in October of 2002, you would complete 25 years in September, 2027 and would receive your award at the 2027 convention.
If you believe you qualify for a 2026 25-Year honor, please contact Jeff Hodges, CSC Special Awards chair (
SportsInformation@una.edu).
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Steven Aldridge
Union University (Tenn.)
Associate Director of Athletics, Sports Communication
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Nick Askew
Bushnell University
Assistant Athletic Director for Communications |
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Cody Bush
RMAC
Associate Commissioner for Strategic Communications
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Derek Crudele
Goldey-Beacom College
Sports Information Director
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Chad Grubbs
Hardin-Simmons University
Associate Athletic Director - External Relations
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Brent Harris
Wabash College
Athletics and Recreation Communications Director |
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Jeff Honza
Southeast Missouri State University
Associate Director of Athletics for Strategic Communications
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John Jordan
Flagler College
Assistant AD/Athletics Communications
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Nick Kornder
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference
Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations
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Tim McKinney
Triton College
Sports Information Specialist/Special Assistant Coach
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Shamus McKnight
University of Nebraska
Assistant Athletic Director/Communications
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Matt McLagan
Macalester College
Director of Sports Information
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Chad Moller
University of Missouri
Associate Director of Athletics-Strategic Communications
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Rich Moser
Eastern Illinois University
Associate Athletic Director / Media & Public Relations
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Chris Panter
Rowan University
Athletic Communications Coordinator
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Leann Parker
Ohio State University
Assistant Athletic Director
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Bill Salyer
Illinois State University
Director of Athletics Communications
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Kyle Schwartz
Ohio Valley Conference
Associate Commissioner for Strategic Communications
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Kit Strief
Valdosta State University
Assistant Athletic Director for Communications
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Ken Sweeten
Southern Connecticut State University
Associate Director of Athletics/Athletic Communications |
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Dennis Switzer
Benedict College
Senior Director of Athletic Communications and Social Media
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Brian Thiessen
St. Ambrose University
Sports Information Director
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Francis Tommasino
Christopher Newport University
Senior Director of Athletic Communications |
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Don Weast
Emporia State University
Associate Athletic Director, Media Relations
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Alan Wickstrom
Wheaton College
Director of Athletics Communication
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