College Sports Information Directors of America

Fred Stabley, Sr. Writing Contest

In our profession, we are called upon to use our writing skills each and every day to create stories that captivate and engage our audiences. The Stabley Writing Contest recognizes the top writing and storytelling content in seven different categories (plus a category for undergraduate student writing entries) from current 2024-25 CSC members.

The Stabley Writing Contest honors winners in two divisions - a NCAA Division I Division and a College Division. The College Division encompasses all other current members from NCAA Division II, IIi, the NAIA, two-year organizations, Canadian organizations and any other organization unaffiliated with these aforementioned divisions. Current 2024-25 dues-paying members submit their entries based on their Division, and then choose the appropriate district they are in (districts are shown in the nomination portal). Contest judges will then choose a District winner in each category. Those District winning entries are then considered for national category honors, which include a National Story of the Year in NCAA Division I and a National Story of the Year in the College Division.

Contest Submission Period: December 11, 2024 through Friday, Jan. 31, 2025 (midnight Eastern)

TO SUBMIT AN ENTRY (ENTRIES NOW CLOSED)

1. Award portal (https://awards.collegesportscommunicators.com/) closed as of Feb. 1, 2025 
2. Click the blue CSC Member Login button and log in with your CSC credentials.
3. After successful login, you will land on your Dashboard within the system. Look to the left side of the page for MY PROGRAMS.
4. Under the "Select" dropdown of available programs/contests, choose Fred Stabley Writing Contest and click on that. Then, select the blue CREATE button to start your entry.

STORY CATEGORIES
You may submit ONE ENTRY per category. There are seven categories, plus a general Undergraduate Student Writing Category. Each full-time CSC member may have a maximum of SEVEN entries - one per category, so choose your top work in each category in advance. Please do not submit more than one entry in a category; your entries will be invalidated if you do.

1. Athlete Profile (current)
2. Coach/Administrator Profile (current)
3. Event Coverage (current)
4. General Feature/Blog
5. Historical Feature
6. Season Recap/Preview
7. Social Justice (includes with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging-themed written content)
8. Undergraduate Student Writing Category — a 2024-25 student member of CSC may submit writings on any of the topics listed 1-7; a student is limited to ONE ENTRY per category, with the potential to submit SEVEN total entries (ex: student can submit only one season recap/preview; can submit only one athlete feature, etc).

• Undergraduate Student Writing Category: This is open to undergraduate students who hold a dues-paying 2024-25 membership. Non-member student entries are not accepted. Each student member must make their own submissions and will choose the "Undergraduate Student Writing Category" for their submissions.
• What qualifies as a undergraduate student member? An undergraduate who is either 1. part of an organization's All-In Membership or 2. an undergraduate who has purchased a 2024-25 student membership. For undergraduate students not already included in an institution's All-In membership, remember that CSC offers a $30.00 student membership annually. ALL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS WHO WANT TO SUBMIT writing samples must be current members.

All entries must have been written in the last calendar year. So, for the 2025 Stabley Writing Contest, submissions written between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2024 will be accepted. You will be asked to check a box on the submission form stating that your content was originally published during those dates.

What Entries Qualify and What are the Entry Steps?
Self-Entries Only Reminder: Only 2024-25 CSC members have access to the contest portal. You can only submit entries that you have written. A current 2024-25 CSC member cannot submit entries for another dues-paying member or a non-member. YOU MUST BE THE AUTHOR OF YOUR SUBMISSION(S).
 

1. Only current dues-paying members of College Sports Communicators are eligible to enter the contest. Work of any current dues-paying athletics communicators is acceptable (full-time professionals, graduate assistants, interns, student assistants, etc.). Everyone submits for themselves. There is no ability to submit an entry for another 2024-25 dues-paying member, or an author who is not a current member.
2. Entries may also come from a conference office, as long as they are written and submitted by a dues-paying member. Entries must have been written/published/produced between Jan. 1, 2024 and Dec. 31, 2024. There is a date verification checkoff in the submission portal where you must list the first date that this entry was publicized.
3. Entries must be submitted by the deadline (Jan. 31, 2025, midnight Eastern) to be considered.
4. The contest honors winners in two divisions - a NCAA Division I division and a College Division (encompasses all other members from NCAA Division II, IIi, the NAIA, two-year organizations, Canadian organizations and any other organization unaffiliated with these aforementioned divisions).
5. After you choose your division - NCAA Division I or College Division - you will submit your entries into your appropriate CSC district. The list of districts are listed in the nomination form and are also listed below.
6. Entries from current 2024-25 dues-paying members only can be submitted. You're encouraged to submit stories in as many of the categories as you'd like, but you can only submit one entry per category. These must be self-entries, as
7. Entries will be judged on overall writing style, creativity, flow and organization, inventiveness, grammar, punctuation, opening and closing paragraphs, and the ease with which the reader acquires the information. Story layout, photos, video, and design are not factored into the judging process.

If you have changed jobs since writing your 2024 entries and have content you would like judged from your former organization:
If you are in a new position since writing your 2024 content, you MUST SUBMIT YOUR ENTRIES in the correct Division (University of College) and in the District in which they were written, not the district that you are currently in in your present job.
For example: If you currently work at a University Division school in District 2, but want to submit one of your writing samples from a former job where you were in the College Division and District 7, then you choose that entry to be placed in the "College Division" and "District 7."
 

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Judging
All entries will be forwarded to a Stabley Writing Contest district representative, who will head a panel of at least three judges. The stories will be judged by category only, with the top story in each category at the district level being forwarded to a national panel of judges.

The national judges will select the top story in each of the seven categories for University Division, and each of the seven categores for the College Division. They will then determine the overall "National Story of the Year." All national category winners and the overall story of the year recipients will receive award plaques.
 
All district winners who do not receive national recognition will receive certificates.
 
District coordinators reserve the right to re-classify an entry if it is not submitted for the proper category.  
 
Any questions may be directed to your district coordinators.

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District Breakdown For the Stabley Writing Contest

If you have changed jobs since writing your 2024 entries: If you are in a new position since writing your 2024 content, you MUST SUBMIT YOUR ENTRIES in the District in which they were written, not the district that you are currently in in your present job.

District 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick)

District 2 (Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, District of Columbia)

District 3 (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia)

District 4 (Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama)

District 5 (Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ontario, Manitoba)

District 6 (Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana

District 7 (Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Saskatchewan, Alberta)

District 8 (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, British Columbia, Yukon)  

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