College Sports Information Directors of America

Related:

• Scholarships & Grants Program
• All-Time CoSIDA Honorees

by Brian Laubscher, Washington and Lee University Sports Information Director
Chair of the CoSIDA Scholarship Committee

The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced its class of scholarship and grant winners for the 2019-20 academic year on Thursday, May 30.

CoSIDA Scholarship Committee members chose a trio of $10,000 postgraduate scholarship recipients, three more $5,000 undergraduate scholarship winners, two renewable $1,000 scholarship winners among the children of CoSIDA members, and selected two schools to receive $15,000 graduate internship grants.

The scholarships will be formally announced during CoSIDA’s annual convention in Orlando, Fla., June 9-12. With expansion of the Scholarships and Grants program prior to the 2018-19 academic year, CoSIDA awards its membership over $80,000 annually. Application deadlines are in April and the recipients are selected every May. For more information about the program and how you may benefit, please visit the Awards & Contests link on CoSIDA.com.

The CoSIDA Postgraduate Scholarships have been awarded since the program began in 1981. Two of the three scholarships, the Wylie Smith Scholarship and the Langston Rogers Scholarship, are named in honor of outstanding professionals in the athletics communications industry.

Ballard

Roper

Souza

This year’s recipient of the CoSIDA Postgraduate Scholarship is Jordyn Ballard of Black Hills State University. Tyler Roper of Utah Valley University will receive the Wylie Smith Scholarship and Shaylee Souza of Arizona State University will receive the Langston Rogers Scholarship.

Ballard is a 2019 graduate of Black Hills State University and she intends to pursue an advanced degree in sports and exercise sciences from West Texas A&M University. She assisted the sports information department at Black Hills for three years and has also held internships with the Scrapyard Dawgs National Pro Fastpitch Softball team and the Spearfish Sasquatch in a college wood bat league. Ballard aspires to a career in the field and will serve as an athletic communications graduate assistant at West Texas A&M.

Roper is a 2018 graduate of Utah Valley University and spent the 2018-19 school year as a graduate assistant in the athletic communications office at Ball State University, where he is pursuing an advanced degree in sport administration. He spent two years as an undergraduate worker in the sports information office at Utah Valley and he also volunteered his time assisting at Colorado State and with the Western Athletic Conference. He currently serves as the primary contact for soccer, men’s and women’s swimming & diving and men’s volleyball at Ball State.

Souza earned a bachelor of arts in sports journalism from Arizona State University in December of 2018. She will continue her education at Arizona State in August as she pursues an advanced degree in sports law and business. Souza served as a student assistant in the Media Relations office at Arizona State for four years as an undergraduate, serving as the primary contact for the nationally-ranked men’s tennis and men’s and women’s swimming teams. She’s also completed internships with the Junior Golf Association of Arizona, the Arizona Cardinals and USA Baseball.

The CoSIDA Undergraduate Scholarships have been presented every year since 1999 and two of the scholarships are also named for outstanding professionals in the field, Fred Neusch and Dave Wohlhueter. Both CoSIDA Hall of Famers, Neusch served as the long-time secretary of the organization while Wohlhueter was the long-time treasurer.

Haueter

Henson

Valente

The 2019-20 recipients of the CoSIDA Undergraduate Scholarships include Joseph Haueter of the University of Mount Union, Kai Henson of St. Joseph’s College (Brooklyn) and Gabriel Vegas Valente of the University of Nebraska.

Haueter has been a student assistant in the sports information office at the University of Mount Union for his first two years, working with Assistant Athletic Director/Sports Information Director Leonard Reich. An expected 2021 graduate, Haueter is pursuing a degree in sport business and his experiences also include working in guest services at the Pro Football Hall of Fame and serving as a volunteer for the 2019 Mid-American Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments.

Henson has served as an athletic communications intern at St. Joseph’s for both of his first two years, as he pursues a degree in journalism and media studies. An expected 2021 graduate, Henson works alongside Anthony Macapugay, Manager of Athletic Communications at St. Joseph’s, reporting on every sporting event on campus. He has also assisted with coverage of athletic contests at York College (N.Y.), is a freelance statistician in the New York City area, and was a volunteer for the 2017 Big Ten Media Day at Madison Square Garden.

Valente is pursuing degrees in business administration and sports media and communication and expects to graduate in December 2020 from the University of Nebraska. There, he serves as the sports information contact for the men’s tennis team. A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Valente has also served as a staff writer for The Daily Nebraskan, and was a journalism intern at TV Tribuna/Globoesporte.com in Santos, Brazil.

To be eligible for either the Postgraduate or Undergraduate Scholarships, candidates must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average and express an interest in pursuing a career in sports information.

The Phil Langan Graduate Internships were also introduced in 1999 as a way to assist understaffed offices and provide opportunity for those wishing to break into the field. It is a one-year grant of $15,000 to hire a graduate intern. The 2019-20 school year will see Benedict College and Westminster College (Mo.) receive the $15,000 grant to assist the efforts of two talented professionals.

Carney

Switzer

Kirsten Carney is entering her fourth year at Westminster, serving as the sports information director, social media manager and senior women’s administrator. She will receive a grant to hire an intern that can assist her efforts in covering Westminster’s 18-sport varsity athletics program. As the sole full-time employee to handle sports information at the college, Carney will utilize the position to enhance the college’s social media and graphic design efforts, while also providing statistical assistance.

Dennis Switzer is beginning his ninth year at Benedict and his eighth as the sports information director. He also serves as the interim director of compliance at the college. Also the only full-time member of the sports information office at his college, Switzer will utilize the position to enhance all media relations efforts for Benedict’s 13-sport athletics program.

The CoSIDA Member-Child Scholarships constitute the organization’s newest scholarship program, assisting with educational funding for children of CoSIDA members. The program began in 2014 and is a $1,000 award that is renewable for up to four academic years given that the recipients meet the basic qualifications of the award. This year’s recipients are Sam Sadowski and Solomon Serba-Davis.

Serba-Davis

Sadowski

Sam Sadowski is the son of Chuck Sadowski, the director of sports information at the University of Bridgeport (Conn.) and a veteran of more than 30 years in the sports information profession. Sam will be entering Tufts University in the fall after graduating as the valedictorian at the Co-operative Arts and Humanities High School in New Haven, Conn.

Solomon Serba-Davis is the son of Kyle Serba, the senior associate athletics director for strategic communications at North Carolina Central University, where he has worked since 1994. Solomon finished third in his class at J.F. Webb High School in Oxford, N.C., and he will attend the University of North Carolina Wilmington this fall.

All-Time CoSIDA Honorees

Postgraduate Scholarship

• 1981 Craig Bohnert, Evansville
• 1982 John Lashway, Oregon
• 1983 Jay Hill, Michigan
• 1984 Jonathan Dukes, Georgia Southern
• 1985 Brian Teter, Illinois State
• 1986 Mark Berger, Ohio
• 1987 Chris McMurry, Northern Arizona
• 1988 Angela Hultman, Mankato State
• 1989 Beth Haag, Iowa State
• 1990 Stephanie Grimes, Boise State
• 1991 Lana Bandy, Purdue
• 1992 Amy Stabley, Central Michigan / Robert Hester, Northern Illinois
• 1993 Will Roleson, Miami (Ohio)
• 1994 Randy Hayson, Illinois State
• 1995 Stuart McFarland, Missouri / Sally Krauss, Western Kentucky
• 1996 Jeff Griesch, Nebraska
• 1997 Chris Ambrose, Purdue / Jeff Griesch, Nebraska
• 1998 Chris Ambrose, Purdue / Brian Gunning, Marshall
• 1999 Brian Gunning, Marshall / Heidi Roth, Syracuse
• 2000 Mark Fratto, Maryland / Andy Knappick, Illinois State
• 2001 Brad Caudill, Eastern Michigan / Susan Seabrook, Alabama-Birmingham
• 2002 Michelle Kelley, Colgate / Sean Wright, Westminster (Mo.)
• 2003 Brad Fischer, Wisconsin-La Crosse / Lainie Guiddy, West Virginia
• 2004 Eric Braley, Northern Iowa / Kristopher Sears, Indiana
• 2005 Michael Potter, Ball State / Erin Whiteside, Penn State
• 2006 Chris Yandle, Marshall / Jessica Calderone, Southeast Louisiana
• 2007 Caroline Domecq, Georgia / Kyle Chilton, Southern Virginia
• 2008 Jared Verner, Northwest Missouri State / Kendra Lee, Ohio State
• 2009 Laurie Wild, Northern Iowa / Britney Wright, Florida State
• 2010 Grant Abston, Texas / Mariel Brady, St. John’s
• 2011 Andrew Lentz, Tennessee / Britney Reddick, Kutztown
• 2012 Carli Todd, DePaul / Joelle Milholm, Cal State Bakersfield
• 2013 Kim Carper, Vanderbilt / Joelle Milholm, Cal State Bakersfield
• 2014 Kati Morse, Southeastern Louisiana / Kyle Skene, Millsaps
• 2015 Andrew Forhan, Whitworth / Akilah Laster, Oklahoma
• 2016 James Hajek, Nebraska / Lorie Garnett, Nebraska
• 2017 Nicole Praga, Arizona State / Andrea Beene, Oklahoma
• 2018 Lauren Simpson, Illinois State / McKenzie Pavacich, Arizona State / Scott Vander Sloot, Ashland University
• 2019 Jordyn Ballard, Black Hills State / Tyler Roper, Utah Valley / Shaylee Souza, Arizona State

Undergraduate Scholarship

• 1999 Kate Adams, Iowa State / Michelle La Scola, Northern Illinois / Casey Taylor, Christopher Newport
• 2000 Daniel Dykstra, Wheaton (Ill.) / Kimberly Frederick, Manhattan / Bobbie Horstman, Iowa State
• 2001 Bobbie Horstman, Iowa State / Shayla Reiff, Mt. Vernon Nazarene / Dustin Roberts, Oklahoma
• 2002 Branie Davidson, Northwest Missouri State / Shante Gree, Fayetteville State / Teri LaJeunesse, Michigan Tech
• 2003 Kimberly Gray Folkes, Virginia Tech / Adam Holtz, Bethany Lutheran / Laura Schoenberger, Pittsburg State
• 2004 Cassie Chance, Mississippi State / Nick Kiger, Colorado State
• 2005 John Vogel, Youngstown State / Monique Bowman, Capital University
• 2006 Todd Zeidler, Bemidji / Amy Robertson, Mississippi State
• 2007 Caleb Hawley, Oregon State / Christina Marshall, James Madison
• 2008 Andrew Middleman, Baldwin-Wallace / Kevin Flora, University of the Cumberlands
• 2009 Carli Todd, Tampa / David Bodman, La Salle
• 2010 Michael Benson, Southern Illinois-Carbondale / James Rodriguez, Baldwin-Wallace
• 2011 Adam K. Moussa, Memphis / Erica LaBranche, Stonehill
• 2012 Jake Faber, Pittsburg State / Ashley Goettl, Wisconsin-River Falls
• 2013 Casey Bonk, Pittsburgh / Lucy Montgomery, Washington-St. Louis
• 2014 Mike Mulcahy, New Mexico / Kourtney Freiburger, Purdue
• 2015 Nathan Edwards, San Jose State / Marisa Lombardo, Alvernia
• 2016 Morgan Romans, Eastern Kentucky / Christy Effendie, UC Davis
• 2017 Christopher Lawrence, Alaska Anchorage / Bailey Knecht, Northeastern
• 2018 Victoria Mills, Fort Wayne / Chelsea Lombardo, Adelphi / Liam Pickhardt, Linfield College
• 2019 Joseph Haueter, Mount Union / Kai Henson, St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) / Gabriel Vegas-Valente, Nebraska

Graduate Internship Grant

• 1999 Alabama A&M, Wright State
• 2000 Central Oklahoma, Urbana (Ohio)
• 2001 Central State (Ohio), Cheyney
• 2002 Eckerd College, Hardin-Simmons
• 2003 St. Francis (N.Y.), Tennessee Tech
• 2004 Carroll College
• 2005 Wesleyan University
• 2006 Bellarmine
• 2007 Central College of Iowa
• 2008 Grand Canyon University
• 2009 Lake Erie College
• 2010 Illinois Wesleyan
• 2011 Ursinus
• 2012 DePauw
• 2013 Chicago State
• 2014 Gallaudet
• 2015 Elmhurst College
• 2016 Post University
• 2017 Connecticut College
• 2018 Wright State / The Sage Colleges
• 2019 Benedict College / Westminster College (Mo.)

Member Child Scholarship

• 2014 Grace Neely (Kentucky)/Tony Neely (Kentucky) - Dakota Hawkins (Winthrop)/Michael Hawkins (Francis Marion)
• 2015 Brinley Lowe (North Carolina)/Bob Lowe (Berry College) - Lauren Dickerson (William & Mary)/Drew Dickerson (Atlantic 10 Conference)
• 2016 Fiona Lefresne (Missouri State)/Pete Lefresne (Saint Leo) - Daniel Ruple (Baldwin Wallace)/Kevin Ruple (Baldwin Wallace)
• 2017 Fiona Lefresne (Missouri State)/Pete Lefresne (Saint Leo) - Daniel Ruple (Baldwin Wallace)/Kevin Ruple (Baldwin Wallace)
•         Lauren Dickerson (William & Mary)/Drew Dickerson (Atlantic 10) - Kevin Mobley (Georgia)/Mike Mobley (Georgia)
• 2018 Peter Hartrick (Scranton)/John Hartrick (Binghamton) - Karlee Bird (Linfield College)/Kelly Bird (Linfield College)
•         Fiona Lefresne (Missouri State)/Pete Lefresne (Earlham College) - Daniel Ruple (Baldwin Wallace)/Kevin Ruple (Baldwin Wallace)
•        Kevin Mobley (Georgia)/Mike Mobley (Georgia)
• 2019 Sam Sadowski (Tufts)/Chuck Sadowski (Bridgeport)
•         Solomon Serba-Davis (North Carolina Wilmington)/Kyle Serba (North Carolina Central)

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