College Sports Information Directors of America

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CoSIDA Announces Record Class of 2018-19 Scholarship Winners

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by Jeff Griesch, University of Nebraska Senior Associate Communications Director/Operations
Chair of the CoSIDA Scholarship Committee

The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced a record-setting class of scholarship and grant winners on Monday, June 25, as the organization more than doubled its award distribution to a record $80,000 for the 2018-19 academic year.

CoSIDA Scholarship Committee members chose a trio of $10,000 postgraduate scholarship recipients, three more $5,000 undergraduate scholarship winners, six $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 National Harbor, Md., June 27-30.

The Fred Nuesch-Dave Wohlhueter Undergraduate Scholarships and Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grant have been awarded since 1999, when CoSIDA expanded its scholarship program in order to foster interest in the sports information field. Since presenting the first Wylie Smith Graduate Scholarship in 1981, CoSIDA has provided nearly $600,000 in grants to students working in sports information offices at member institutions and conferences.

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.

Lauren Simpson, a sport management major in graduate school at Illinois State University, earned the Wylie Smith Postgraduate Scholarship ($10,000). Simpson, who graduated in May of 2017 from Bethany College in West Virginia with a 4.0 GPA as a communications and media arts major, spent the 2017-18 athletic season as a graduate assistant and primary contact for the men’s and women’s cross country and track and field teams at Illinois State for Assistant Athletic Director for Communications Mike Williams. Simpson worked as a student in the Bethany College Sports Information Office throughout her undergraduate career, including her senior year under Sports Information Director Andrew Woodley. She served as a summer intern in the Robert Morris Media Relations Department for Assistant Athletic Director Jim Duzyk in 2016. She began her collegiate career as a two-year starter on Bethany College’s women’s basketball team and finished as a member of the track and field team. She was the President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee at Bethany College for two years and was a SAAC member throughout her career. She participated in the NCAA Career in Sports Forum in 2017 and the NCAA Leadership in Sports Forum in 2015. She was also the President of the National Communications Honor Society at Bethany College as a senior.

The Wylie Smith Postgraduate Scholarship is named in honor of the former CoSIDA Scholarships Committee chairman and long-time Sports Information Director at Northern Arizona University.

McKenzie Pavacich claimed the Langston Rogers Postgraduate Scholarship ($10,000). Pavacich, who earned her bachelor’s degree in multimedia journalism with a 3.57 GPA from Virginia Tech in May of 2017, focused most of her four years in the Virginia Tech Strategic Communications Office as a student assistant for the wrestling program under Associate Athletic Director for Strategic Communications Pete Moris. She spent 2017-18 assisting the Arizona State wrestling program as a project manager and media relations assistant, while deferring her enrollment into the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications. In the summer of 2016, Pavacich served as a social media intern for the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The Langston Rogers Postgraduate Scholarship is named in honor of former Mississippi Sports Information Director and CoSIDA Hall of Famer Langston Rogers, who served as the SID at Ole Miss from 1981 until his retirement in 2010. The scholarship is presented annually to a rising minority or female student.

CoSIDA’s newest postgraduate scholarship was awarded to Scott Vander Sloot from Ashland University. Vander Sloot, who will serve as a graduate assistant under Director of Athletic Communications Brendan Bittner at Ashland, completed his undergraduate education with a 3.8 GPA as a sports communication major at Ferris State, where he worked under Assistant Athletic Director for Communications Robert Bentley. During his time at Ferris State, Vander Sloot served as a multimedia coordinator for the 2018 NCAA Division II national championship men’s basketball program.

CoSIDA’s Fred Nuesch Undergraduate Scholarship award ($5,000) was presented to Victoria Mills from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and the Dave Wohlhueter Undergraduate Scholarship ($5,000) was awarded to Chelsea Lombardo from Adelphi University. CoSIDA’s newest undergraduate scholarship award ($5,000) was claimed byLiam Pickhardtof Linfield College.

Mills, who will be a senior marketing and economics major with a 3.3 GPA at Fort Wayne in 2018-19, captured the Nuesch Scholarship. Mills has served the Mastodons under Assistant Athletic Director for Media Services Derrick Sloboda. A 2018 Arthur Ashe Sports Scholar Award winner as a setter for the Mastodon women’s volleyball team, Mills is also the President of the IPFW Student-Athlete Advisory Committee in 2018-19.

Lombardo claimed the Wohlhueter Scholarship to complete her senior year as a communications and digital production major at Adelphi. Lombardo, who carries a 3.6 GPA, has served as a media assistant for Sports Information Director Victoria Chiesa at Adelphi since January of 2017. Prior to attending Adelphi, Lombardo spent two years at American International College in Springfield, Mass.

Pickhardt earned the newest CoSIDA undergraduate scholarship entering his junior year as a mass communication and business marketing major with a 3.8 GPA at Linfield College. Pickhardt has spent more than two years as a student assistant under Linfield Sports Information Director Kelly Bird. He has also been a member of the Linfield cross country and track and field teams for the past two seasons. In 2017-18, Pickhardt was a member of the Linfield Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

For the first time in 2017-18, CoSIDA is expected to grant five $1,000 Member-Child scholarships in its newest scholarship program to benefit CoSIDA members and their families.

Karlee Bird(Linfield College), the daughter of Linfield College Sports Information Director Kelly Bird, joined Peter Hartrick(Scranton University) who is the son of Binghamton University Sports Information Director John Hartrick in winning new $1,000 awards for 2018-19. Peter plans to study marketing while competing as a member of the men’s basketball team at Scranton. Karlee Bird plans to major in music education at Linfield, after spending many years assisting Kelly at Linfield events including football, basketball, volleyball and softball. A marching band drum major, Karlee also posted perfect attendance in school for 13 consecutive years at McMinnville High School, before graduating as the class salutatorian.

Fiona Lefresne and Daniel Ruplemaintained their Member-Child scholarships for the third consecutive year. Lefresne, who will be a senior at Missouri State University, is the daughter of Earlham College Director so Sports Marketing and Communications Pete Lefresne. Fiona is majoring in athletic training at Missouri State. She also has been a student assistant in the Missouri State Athletic Communications Office during her time on campus.

Ruple, a junior-to-be at Baldwin Wallace, is the son of Baldwin Wallace Director of Sports Information and CoSIDA Hall of Famer Kevin Ruple. Following his sophomore season in 2017, Daniel earned first-team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors and was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Forward of the Year. He was also a United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III All-Great Lakes Region first-team selection. He led Baldwin Wallace with 19 goals as a sophomore, while also posting a 3.88 GPA. In 2016, he was the Ohio Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. He is majoring in accounting and finance at Baldwin Wallace.

Kevin Mobley, who will be a junior at the University of Georgia in 2018-19, will receive a Member-Child scholarship for the second straight year. The journalism major is the son of Georgia associate sports information director Mike Mobley.

In addition to awarding 11 scholarships, CoSIDA awarded two 2018-19 Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grants ($15,000) to Wright StateandThe Sage Colleges. The Sports Information Office at Wright State was recently cut to a one-person NCAA Division I shop under Director Bob Noss. Wright State advanced to the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and the 2018 Postseason WNIT in women’s basketball. Wright State shared the first CoSIDA Internship Grant in 1999.

Ann King, who is the Director of Athletic Communications at The Sage Colleges, has seen its athletic offerings grow from five sports on one campus in 2007 to 17 sports on two campuses in 2017-18.

The Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grant provides funds for a sports information office to hire a graduate intern on a one-year basis, hoping the success of the program can help the school demonstrate the need for additional assistance in the future.

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

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

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

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)

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CoSIDA Announces Record Class of 2018-19 Scholarship Winners