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Special Awards Program
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Achievement Award
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Bud Nangle 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).
On the third day of its 2026 Special Awards announcements, CSC recognizes the following seven award winners: Achievement Award recipients Troy Andre and Nathan Looney; Liza David (Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award); Travis Jarome (Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award); Bill Wagner (Lester Jordan Award); Kirk Herbstreit (Jake Wade Award); and Anthony Avila (Bud Nangle Award).
By Blake Timm, Associate Director of Communications, Pacific University/Vice Chair, CSC Special Awards Committee
College Sports Communicators continues to honor the best that the athletic communications profession has to offer, announcing the next seven recipients of the organization’s 2026 Special Awards.
Awarded for just the fifth time in organization history, the Bud Nangle Award will be presented to
Anthony Avila, assistant athletic director – communications & sports information at the University of La Verne. The award recognizes members that embody the ideals of intercollegiate athletics while enduring a stressful personal or professional situation.
Troy Andre, associate director/athletic communications at the University of Colorado, and
Nathan Looney, assistant sports information director at Harding University, will receive CSC’s Achievement Awards, honoring excellence among professionals who have been lifelong assistants.
The Mary Jo Haverbeck Trailblazer Award will be presented to
Liza David, senior associate athletic director – athletic communications at UCLA. The award honors pioneers in the field of athletic communications who have mentored and helped improve the level of diversity within the profession.
Travis Jarome, associate athletics director for public relations & sports media at Jackson State University, will be honored with the Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award, recognizing members for civic involvement and community service both within and outside the profession.
Bill Wagner, assistant athletic director for athletic communications at DePauw University, will receive the Lester Jordan Award in recognition of his longtime support of the Academic All-American program. It is the second award this year for Wagner, who is also the recipient of the 2026 Warren Berg Award.
This year’s Jake Wade Award, which honors members of the media who have made outstanding contributions to intercollegiate athletics, will go to longtime ESPN College GameDay lead analyst
Kirk Herbstreit.
All CSC Special Awards honorees will be recognized during CSC’s annual convention, CSC Unite 26, which takes place June 7-10 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. The convention is held in conjunction with NACDA and Affiliates Convention Week.
Here is a closer look at these seven awards winners:
CSC ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS (UNIVERSITY DIVISION and COLLEGE DIVISION)
Achievement Award
Voted upon by the Special Awards Committee, the Achievement Award honors a University Division member (NCAA Division I) and a College Division member (NCAA Divisions II & III, NAIA, two-year colleges and Canadian institutions) currently serving in the role of an associate or assistant director, who has made outstanding contributions to the field of athletics communications and provided exceptional service to their institution, conference office or intercollegiate athletics affiliated institution. A nominee must have 10 or more years or experience in the athletic communications profession 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 (Arch Ward, Warren Berg or CSC Hall of Fame).
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, UNIVERSITY DIVISION
Troy Andre – University of Colorado
Associate Director, Athletic Communications
A key member of the University of Colorado’s athletic communications team,
Troy Andre is the Buffalos’ primary contact for men’s basketball and women’s golf. He also serves as the webmaster for the university’s athletics website.
Andre joined the Colorado staff as an assistant director in 2003. He was promoted to associate director and added duties as internet managing editor in 2016. He previously served as the primary contact for the school’s women’s basketball and volleyball teams and inputs statistics for a number of the Buffalos’ programs.
During his tenure at CU, Andre served as the media coordinator for the 2006 and 2013 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball first and second rounds hosted by Colorado. He has also served on the media relations staffs for the 2003 Division I Volleyball Championships, the 2008 Frozen Four, the 2017 Final Four and the 2019 Final Four.
For the past 18 years, Andre has worked as a stringer for Major League Baseball Advanced Media, running the Gameday software for Colorado Rockies home games. He was part of the media coordination staff for the 2007 World Series, which the Rockies played in.
Prior to his arrival in Boulder, Andre spent five years (1998-2003) as the assistant sports information director and ticket manager at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he was the primary contact for the Bulldogs’ volleyball, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s basketball and baseball teams. He maintained the UMD website and supervised the office’s work-study students.
At UMD, Andre coordinated the marketing, promotion and ticket sales for the 2003 Women’s Frozen Four, and coordinated the statistical crews for the Division II Women’s Basketball Elite Eight in 2001 and 2002.
Andre started his career at the University of Northern Colorado, where he graduated in 1996 with a degree in journalism and mass communication. He worked two years as a student assistant before serving as a graduate assistant from 1996 to 1998. During his undergraduate career, Andre was also a sports reporter for the Greeley Tribune, a job he started in high school.
Andre is a longtime member of the CSC Academic All-America Core Committee.
A native of Fort Collins, Colorado, Andre and his wife, Danielle, have one daughter, Elizabeth.
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, COLLEGE DIVISION
Nathan Looney – Harding University
Assistant Sports Information Director
A graduate of Harding University,
Nathan Looney is in his 18th year as the program’s assistant sports information director and his 22nd year overall as part of the school’s athletics communications staff.
Looney is the primary contact for the Bison’s women’s soccer, volleyball, women’s basketball and softball programs. He also manages the university’s athletic photography, produces highlights packages and serves as the department’s graphic designer.
As an undergraduate, Looney spent four-and-a-half years as a student worker in the Harding sports information office, where he worked primarily with the football and basketball teams. Upon his graduation, Looney spent one year as a sports information intern at the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
Looney graduated from Harding in 2006 with a degree in interactive media. He and his wife, Laura, are parents of a son, Bennett.
MARY JO HAVERBECK TRAILBLAZER AWARD
Liza David – UCLA
Senior Associate Athletic Director – Athletic Communications
A 33-year member of UCLA’s athletic communications office,
Liza David has been a trailblazer for both women and minorities in college athletics communications.
The highest-ranking Filipino-American in the profession, David oversees UCLA’s team of seven full-time sports information directors and serves as the primary contact for the Bruins’ women’s gymnastics and women’s soccer teams.
David has spent her entire career in Westwood, working her way up to the head of the department. She began in 1993 as a volunteer student assistant. After a one-year internship following graduation, David was named an assistant sports information director in 1996. She was promoted to director of new media in 2011, athletic communications director in 2013 and to her current position in 2023.
Over her career, David has worked with 14 of UCLA’s intercollegiate athletic teams and has been the primary contact for 11 NCAA Division I championship teams, most recently the Bruins’ 2022 Division I women’s soccer championship team.
David received a 25-Year Award from CSC in 2021. That same year, she was honored as Sports Information Director of the Year by College Gym News, recognizing her efforts to assist the media in covering UCLA gymnastics.
Among David’s proudest achievements at UCLA is growing the Bruins’ gymnastics Instagram account to among the most followed of any U.S. women’s sports team. As recently as 2025, only the U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team had more Instagram followers than UCLA Gymnastics.
David is a 1995 graduate of UCLA with a degree in communication studies.
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.
BOB KENWORTHY COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD
Travis Jarome – Jackson State University
Associate Athletics Director for Public Relations & Sports Media
Over his 19 years in athletic communications,
Travis Jarome has volunteered hundreds of hours in service to the profession and his community.
Jarome’s involvement includes service to the church communities he has been involved with. He currently serves as a Leader for Momentum at Word of Life in Flowood, Mississippi. As a member of Mulder Church in Wetumpka, Alabama, Jarome served in several roles, including as a group leader for its Stand to Strength Youth and Uncommon Sports groups as well as a weekly youth group leader.
After moving to take his position at Jackson State, Jarome commuted back to Alabama to make sure his commitments continued to be covered.
In the community, Jarome has participated in two 72-hour Emmaus Walks, volunteered with the W.C. Corden/Ashley Robinson Golf Tournament, and served meals at Jackson State’s Student-Athlete Day.
Within the profession, Jarome is in his second year as an At-Large Representative on the CSC Board of Directors, and is a member of the Diversity and Inclusion and Fred Stabley, Sr., Writing Contest committees. He served two years as vice chair of the Inclusion Committee and has been involved in planning for CSC’s Inclusion Fellowship program, of which he was a member of the program’s 2022-23 class. He is also active in the Black College Sports Communicators.
Jarome received CSC’s President’s Award in 2024 for his work on the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. In 2020-21, Jarome was selected as the Southwestern Athletic Conference and Black College Nines sports information director of the year.
The associate director for public relations and sports media at Jackson State since March 2024, Jarome’s career also includes tenures at Alabama State, South Alabama, Tuskegee, Troy, North Georgia College & State University and Auburn University Montgomery.
A graduate of Auburn Montgomery with a degree in education, Jarome and his wife, Courtney, are parents of their daughter, Riley.
Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award
Voted upon by the Special Awards Committee, this award is presented annually to a CSC member for civic involvement, community service and accomplishments within and/or outside of the athletic communications profession.
LESTER JORDAN AWARD
Bill Wagner – DePauw University
Assistant Athletic Director for Athletics Communications
A longtime supporter of the Academic All-America Core Program and a member of the committee for 25 years,
Bill Wagner has been selected to receive CSC’s Lester Jordan Award.
A 2014 inductee into the CSC Hall of Fame, Wagner will also receive the Warren Berg Award at the CSC Unite 26 Convention.
Wagner has served as a district coordinator for the Academic All-America Core Program since 2002. He has been a consistent supporter of the program through numerous leadership roles within CSC, including three years (2005-08) as a College Division Representative on the CSC Board of Directors and as the inaugural president of the Division III Sports Information Directors Association.
Wagner is in his 40th year at DePauw University. He was hired as sports information director in 1986 and promoted to assistant athletics director for athletics communications in 2019. Prior to DePauw, Wagner served as part of the sports information staff at his alma maters, Miami University (Ohio) and The Ohio State University.
Wagner was inducted into the DePauw University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025. He received DePauw’s Outstanding Gold Spirit Award in 2024 and the Bob Williams Helping Hands Award from the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association in 2025. His resume includes numerous CSC Publication & Digital Design Awards, including “Best In The Nation” awards for DePauw’s 1996 and 1997 football media guides.
Wagner graduated from Miami University in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a major in marketing and an emphasis on advertising and marketing research. He earned a Master of Arts degree in sport management from Ohio State in 1986.
Wagner and his wife, Shelly, are the proud parents of two children: Nadia and John.
Lester Jordan Award
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 solicited by, and voted on, by the Academic All-America® Core Committee.
JAKE WADE AWARD (MEDIA AWARD)
Kirk Herbstreit – ESPN
One of the most recognizable voices in college football and the longtime lead analyst on ESPN College GameDay, Kirk Herbstreit is the recipient of CSC’s Jake Wade Award.
A member of the ESPN team since 1995 and of the College GameDay crew since 1996, Herbstreit’s name is synonymous with college football. He has served as ESPN and ABC’s lead game analyst since 2006. He has called an annual College Football Playoff semifinal and every national championship game with longtime booth partner Chris Fowler since the CFP era debuted in 2014. He previously called seven BCS National Championships (2010-14 on ABC, 2008-09 on ESPN Radio) alongside legendary play-by-play announcer Brent Musburger.
Long connected to the Rose Bowl, Herbstreit has called “The Granddaddy of Them All” 16 times – more than any other analyst – and the national broadcast booth at the iconic stadium in Pasadena is dedicated in honor of his family. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2023.
A five-time Sports Emmy Award winner for best analyst, Herbstreit has been a lead analyst on the nine-time Sports Emmy Award-winning College GameDay for 18 years, originally joining Fowler and 2011 CSC Jake Wade Award recipient Lee Corso. In all, Herbstreit has earned three Sports Emmy Awards for outstanding studio host (2010, 2011, 2019) with 11 overall nominations as a leading voice on college football’s premier pregame show.
In addition to working the three-hour weekly GameDay pregame show, Herbstreit travels to the site of ESPN’s biggest game for ABC Saturday Night Football, which he began when ABC debuted broadcast television’s first weekly prime-time college football series in 2006. In 2018 and 2020, Herbstreit earned the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Event Analyst, and he has been nominated 19 times overall in the category. Herbstreit’s five individual Sports Emmy Award wins (Event and Studio) make him the most decorated on-air commentator in ESPN history.
In 2019, Herbstreit was honored by CSC as part of College GameDay, which received the Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award.
A native of Centerville, Ohio, Herbstreit earned a degree in business administration in 1993 from The Ohio State University, where he was a quarterback and four-year letterman with the Buckeyes (1989-92). As a senior, he was a starter and team captain who was recognized as the team MVP and most motivational player.
Herbstreit’s father, Jim, was also a player and captain at Ohio State (1958-60). He would later serve as an assistant coach (1960-61 — National Champions in 1961) under legendary head coach Woody Hayes and also coached with Bo Schembechler at Miami (Ohio). Jim and Kirk are one of only two father-son tandems to each serve as captain of their Ohio State teams in the history of the storied program. Three of Herbstreit’s sons – Tye and Jake (Clemson) and Zak (Ohio State) – have played college football and his youngest son, Chase recently completed his freshman season at Michigan.
In 2021, Herbstreit published his memoir, “Out of the Pocket: Football, Fatherhood, and College GameDay Saturdays,” with friend and former College GameDay personality Gene Wojciechowski.
Jake Wade Award
Voted upon by the Special Awards Committee, the Jake Wade Award is presented annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution in the media to the field of intercollegiate athletics. The nominee must be a member of the media.
BUD NANGLE AWARD
Anthony Avila – University of La Verne
Assistant Athletic Director – Communications & Sports Information
Most athletic communicators take the summer to rest and prepare for the upcoming seasons.
Anthony Avila spent last summer saving his mother’s life, making him the fifth-ever recipient of CSC’s Bud Nangle Award.
The assistant athletic director – communications & sports information at the University of La Verne had been in the position for less than two years before learning that he was a match for his mother, donating part of his liver to her in Summer 2025.
Colleagues noted that not only did Avila remain committed to making sure La Verne athletics was covered without losing a beat, but was quiet when sharing why he was taking time away.
“Throughout this deeply personal and physically demanding journey, Anthony continued to approach his professional duties with dedication and humility,” said La Verne Director of Athletics Jenna Panatier. “He planned carefully to ensure the continuity of coverage for our student-athletes and teams, and he remained a steady presence and leader within our department. His example resonated across our campus community and inspired us all.”
Avila is in his second stint at La Verne. He initially served as director of athletic communications from 2017 to 2021. He returned in 2023 and was elevated to assistant athletic director in 2024. In between, Avila worked as the marketing manager for Legacy Youth Leadership and sports information director for the California Community College Fastpitch Coaches Association.
From 2016 to 2017, Avila served as the first full-time sports information director at Pomona-Pitzer. He began his career at his alma mater, Occidental College, as a sports information student assistant before spending two years as assistant sports information director.
Avila was selected for the NCAA Institute for Administrative Advancement in 2018 and served as a judge for CSC’s Fred Stabley, Sr., Writing Contest in 2021.
Avila graduated from Occidental with a degree in history in 2014. He earned a Master of Science degree in leadership and management from La Verne in 2021.
Bud Nangle Award
Presented to a CSC member or an individual outside of CSC who embodies the ideals of intercollegiate athletics by showing ethics, integrity, compassion and/or bravery in a singular act or under an unusual or stressful personal or professional situation. Voted upon by the Special Awards Committee and awarded only when worthy candidates are nominated.