College Sports Information Directors of America

The 2015-16 recipients, above: L to R, clockwise: Kevin Juday, Elmburst SID; Elmhurst will receive the Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grant ($12,000); Andrew Forhan (Whitworth University), Wylie Smith Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500); Akalih Laster (Oklahoma), Langston Rogers Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500); Nathan Edwards (San Jose State), Fred Nuesch Undergraduate Scholarship ($3,000) and Marisa Lombardo (Alvernia University), Dave Wohlhueter Undergraduate Scholarship ($3,000);and Brinley Lowe and Lauren Dickerson, CoSIDA’s two $1,000 Member-Child Scholarship recipients.

by Jeff Griesch, University of Nebraska Media Relations/CoSIDA Scholarship Committee

The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced the winners of a combined $35,000 in scholarships and grants to the recipients of their 2015-16 awards on Thursday, June 11.

CoSIDA Scholarship Committee members chose a pair of $7,500 postgraduate scholarship recipients, two more $3,000 undergraduate scholarship winners, two $1,000 scholarship winners among the children of CoSIDA members, and selected one school to receive a $12,000 graduate internship grant.

The scholarships will be formally announced during CoSIDA’s annual workshop in Orlando, June 15-18.

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 $500,000 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.

Andrew Forhan (Whitworth University), a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in administrative leadership at Whitworth in Spokane, Wash., earned the Wylie Smith Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500). Forhan, who graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree as a journalism and mass communications major with a 3.888 GPA at Whitworth, began working as a sports information assistant for Assistant Athletic Director/Sports Information Director Steve Flegel in August of 2014. Forhan also has worked for the Bellingham Bells, a collegiate summer baseball team in the West Coast League. Forhan was heavily involved on the staff of the school newspaper, The Whitworthian, where he served as Editor-in-Chief as a senior in 2013-14 and Sports Editor in 2012-13. Forhan also worked on the regional sports desk for the Associated Press from August of 2013 through March of 2014, while attending Whitworth.

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.

Akalih Laster claimed the Langston Rogers Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500). Laster, who earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Miami in May of 2007, is pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Oklahoma while serving as an Athletics Diversity Council Graduate Assistant. She assists the OU Communications Department, focusing much of her attention on the Sooner football and track and field programs.

Laster served as a volunteer at the Big 12 Conference men’s basketball tournament in March, and for the 2015 Cotton Bowl. She previously served as a communications intern for the Orange Bowl games in 2013 and 2014. She spent three years as a freelance writer for the Miami Herald and Miami Times/SFHSSports.com from 2011 to 2014. She spent nearly six years as a language arts teacher in the Miami Dade County Public Schools following her graduation from the University of Miami.

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 Fred Nuesch Undergraduate Scholarship award ($3,000) was presented to Nathan Edwards from San Jose State University and the Dave Wohlhueter Undergraduate Scholarship ($3,000) was awarded to Marisa Lombardo from Alvernia University.

Edwards, a senior business administration/management major from Napa, Calif., captured the Nuesch Scholarship with a 3.629 GPA at San Jose State. Edwards, who serves as the primary contact for the SJSU baseball and women’s tennis teams in Athletics Media Relations Director Lawrence Fan’s office, has also assisted with media relations for the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers. Edwards was previously a communications intern at the University of San Francisco.

Lombardo earned the Wohlhueter Scholarship after compiling a 3.96 GPA as a marketing and communications major at Alvernia. The junior from Reading, Pa., has been a member of the Alvernia Sports Information Department for Associate Athletic Director Jon King since September of 2013. She expects to graduate in May of 2017. A member of the Alvernia Honors Program, Lombardo serves as the Executive Vice President of the Campus Activities Board. In addition to her duties in the Alvernia SID Office, Lombardo will also serve as a volunteer at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club in July.

CoSIDA’s two $1,000 Member-Child Scholarships were awarded to Lauren Dickerson and Brinley Lowe. Dickerson, who will be a sophomore at the College of William & Mary, is the daughter of Atlantic 10 Conference Assistant Commissioner Drew Dickerson. Lauren plans to major in history and government at William & Mary, where she carries a 3.6 grade-point average, and is involved with the International Relations Club and the club swim team. She graduated from Jamestown High School in Williamsburg, Va., after participating on the state champion swim team and serving as the drum major for the high school band.

Lowe, an incoming freshman at North Carolina, is the daughter of Berry College Sports Information Director Bob Lowe. Brinley graduated from the Weaver Academy in Greensboro, N.C., where she earned a weighted GPA of 4.6 and was an officer in National Honor Society. Lowe is active in theatre and recently appeared as Anne in Anne of Green Gables. She plans to major in political science and statistics at North Carolina.

In addition to the six scholarships, CoSIDA awarded the 2015-16 Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grant ($12,000) to Elmhurst College. Elmhurst Sports Information Director Kevin Juday covers 20 NCAA Division III varsity sports on his own. Over the past three years, Elmhurst has advanced to the NCAA football playoffs and had a player earn the Gagliardi Trophy as the NCAA Division III Player of the Year. Elmhurst also served as a host for NCAA regional volleyball competition before advancing to the NCAA semifinals. The wrestling team added a second-place national finish and featured three individual national champions, while the men’s basketball team added an NCAA Tournament bid. 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

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

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

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)

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