College Sports Information Directors of America

by Wade Steinlage, William Penn University Sports Information Director
Chair of the CoSIDA Fred Stabley Writing Contest

An idea that sprouted from someone outside the Fighting Irish athletic media relations office bloomed into the best written piece of the season as the 2011 CoSIDA Fred S. Stabley Sr. Writing contest winners have been announced.

John Heisler, University of Notre Dame Senior Associate Athletics Director of Media and Broadcast Relations claimed Story of the Year honors with his narrative about legendary cross country and track and field coach Joe Piane and all the changes he has witnessed since coming to South Bend, Ind. in 1974.

“This was a treasure to read,” said one national judge. “Mr. Heisler did a great job of historical sourcing!”

Read John Heisler’s story: Strong of Heart: Joe Piane

The story was part of a book titled Strong of Heart, a brainchild of Notre Dame Athletics Director Jack Swarbrick. The black-and-white soft-cover book was created as a departmental holiday gift.

“We are all in the business of writing stories about people connected with athletics, but this particular piece came about based on a concept that our athletics director came up with,” Heisler said. “The book included 20 stories about various people connected with Notre Dame athletics, past and present, and the feature on Joe Piane was centered around him qualifying as our longest-tenured head coach."

"I wrote that particular piece -- and we had writers from all over the country contribute to the book," Heisler said. "It turned out to be a great vehicle to tell some compelling stories that all traced back to Notre Dame in some way.”

“This gave us a great excuse to get some of our Notre Dame people front and center,” Heisler concluded.

Alex Podlogar of Fayetteville State University was a multiple national winner, taking home Athlete Profile of the Year and General Feature of the Year honors.

Read Alex Podlogar’s Athlete Profile of the Year story: Father and Son: For a number of reasons, Fayetteville State is the perfect place for All-CIAA guard Larry McDonald

Read Alex Podlogar’s General Feature of the Year story: FSU Broncos' student-athletes score a touchdown for education

Mark McGee of Lipscomb University was the recipient of the Event Coverage of the Year award, while Jerry Price of Princeton University wrote the Blog/Interview of the Year.

Read Mark McGee’s Event Coverage of the Year story:

Read Jerry Price’s winning blog entry: Tiger Blog (Aug. 27, 2010 entry): The Official Blog of Princeton University Athletics

The 2011 contest drew 159 total entries with the Athlete Profile category leading the way with 47 entries. Submissions were first judged at the district level, with district winners advancing to a national committee.

All district and national winners will be recognized Wednesday afternoon, June 29, at the CoSIDA Annual Convention in Marco Island, Fla. The Stabley Writing Contest winners and the Publications Contest winners will jointly be recognized from 4:15-5:30 p.m. in a brief ceremony. (The room will be listed in the convention schedule at CoSIDA.com and in the program printed schedule).

The 2012 contest will include entries written from January 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. More details on the 2012 contest will be announced at a later date.

2011 Fred S. Stabley Sr. Writing Contest Results

National Winners

• Story of the Year
  John Heisler (University of Notre Dame, Ind.) District 5, “Joe Piane”
• Athlete Profile
  Alex Podlogar (Fayetteville State University, N.C.) District 3, “Father and Son: For a Number of Reasons, Fayetteville State is the Perfect Place for All-CIAA Guard Larry McDonald”
• Event Coverage
  Mark McGee (Lipscomb University, Tenn.) District 4, “Facing the Giants”
• General Feature
  Alex Podlogar (Fayetteville State University, N.C.) District 3, “Broncos’ Student-Athletes Score a Touchdown for Education”
• Blog/Interview
  Jerry Price (Princeton University, N.J.) District 2, “Tiger Blog--August 27, Part II ”

District Winners

District 1

• Athlete Profile Joel Seil (Nazareth College, N.Y.) “Nazareth Golfer Gets Her Head in the Game”
• Coach/Administrator Profile/Historical Feature Stuart Kaufman (Keene State College, N.H.) “Knight Learns Life Lessons from Legendary Football Coach Bryant”
• General Feature Stuart Kaufman (Keene State College, N.H.) “Transplant Doesn’t Stop Butler”

District 2

• Athlete Profile Craig Sachson, Jerry Price, Cass Cliatt (Princeton University, N.J.) “Football Standout Jordan Culbreath Inspires by Overcoming Disease”
• Coach/Administrator Profile/Historical Feature Tom McGuire (Bloomsburg University, Pa.) “Training Session”
• Event Coverage Tim Goodenow (West Virginia University, W.V.) “Mountaineers Stun No. 5 Virginia”
• General Feature Jon Holtz (Slippery Rock University, Pa.) “Feat on Her Feet”

District 3

• Coach/Administrator Profile/Historical Feature Alex Podlogar (Fayetteville State University, N.C.) “Fayetteville State’s Maynard Coaches More Than Just Basketball”
• Event Coverage Alex Podlogar (Fayetteville State University, N.C.) “Broncos Use Electric First Half to Down Barber-Scotia in Opener”
• Blog/Interview Kyle Serba (North Carolina Central University, N.C.) “NCCU Eagles Grounded by Midwest Storm”

District 4

• Athlete Profile Brian Fremund (University of South Alabama, Ala.) “Who Says Size Matters”
• Coach/Administrator Profile/Historical Feature Richard Retyi (University of Michigan, Mich.) “The First Touchdown in Michigan Football History: The Story of Irving Kane Pond”
• General Feature Brendan Bergen, Nick Minerd (Case Western Reserve University, Ohio) “Undaunted: Case Goalie Anna Kennedy Wins Her Personal Shootout with Cancer”
• Blog/Interview Richard Retyi (University of Michigan, Mich.) “Field Pass with Richard Retyi: September 25”

District 5

• Athlete Profile Gene McGivern (University of St. Thomas, Minn.) “Feats of Strength”
• Event Coverage Clarke Teuscher (North Central College, Ill.) “Cardinals Complete Sweep of National Titles”
• General Feature John Heisler (University of Notre Dame, Ind.) “John Scully”
• Blog/Interview Gene McGivern (University of St. Thomas, Minn.) “Gene’s Blog: Will 2010 be the Year of the ‘Cat?”

District 6

• Athlete Profile Ben Coldagelli (University of Oklahoma) “Oklahoma Student-Athlete Spotlight: Quinton Carter”
• Athlete Profile Debbie Copp (University of Oklahoma, Okla.) “A Story to Tell”
• Coach/Administrator Profile/Historical Feature Ed Cassiere (Xavier University of Louisiana, La.) “McDaniel, Douglas Made July Memorable for XU Athletics”
• General Feature Debbie Copp (University of Oklahoma) “Celebrating a Career: Bob Barry, Sr.”

District 7

• Athlete Profile Larry Happel (Central College, Iowa) “Dutch Tight End Nikkel Feels Addiction to Serve”
• Coach/Administrator Profile/Historical Feature Lara Gillespie (Central College, Iowa) “Home for the Holidays--Athletic Trainers Help Two Live to See Them”
• Event Coverage Alex Helmbrecht (Chadron State College) “Chadron State Bends, Doesn’t Break in 38-31 Win Over Colorado Mines”
• General Feature Larry Happel (Central College, Iowa) “A Pilot for the President--Central Grad Turner Lands Dream Job”

District 8

• Athlete Profile Blake Timm (Pacific University, Ore.) “The Improbable Kicker”
• Coach/Administrator Profile/Historical Feature David Kiefer (Stanford) “40 Years Ago: Roses, A Heisman, and Thunder Chickens”
• Event Coverage Blake Timm (Pacific University, Ore.) “Pacific Football Opens Camp for First Time in 19 Years”
• General Feature Blake Timm (Pacific University, Ore.) “Return to the Grid”

Calendar

Important Dates