Grace College's Josh Neuhart
College Sports Information Directors of America
Above photo:Josh Neuhart, at right, broadcasts a Grace College soccer match with Elizabeth Gray. The sports information director at Grace wears a lot of hats on campus, and has been recognized for his achievements. (File photos by Jeff Nycz, Mid-South Images)
Story courtesy InkFreeNews.com: http://www.inkfreenews.com/2017/07/13/quietly-one-of-the-best-in-the-biz/
Quietly One of the Best in Biz
by Mike Deak
Josh Neuhart poses with his wife, Megan, and son, Gideon, at Miller Field on the campus of Grace College.
“We didn’t design the website to win awards,” Neuhart said. “When Chad (Briscoe) and I designed it, we did it from the ground up. We wanted it to have a different look and feel from any in the college landscape. The primary reason was to focus on recruits and bring them into Grace and show them what’s unique about us. Rather than just show scores and news like every other site does, ours goes beyond that. It showcases distinctives of Grace. But to get awards for it, I was a little surprised.”
The website award, which was given at the NAIA SIDA convention in June, was one of eight total awards the sports information department gathered at the ceremony. It’s work in the NCCAA Basketball Championships, personal features and info graphics all were cited among the quality put out by Grace’s SID, all going to the greater good. Grace’s media guides also were honored, with women’s soccer, basketball and volleyball all taking top-10 nods.
Small colleges don’t share the same luxuries that major universities do, so the Yeoman’s work must be done. Many don’t know that aside from the actual office and computer work, Neuhart also does his fair share of onsite photography at Grace contests, home and away, as well as compile statistics for all 15 of its varsity sports. He’s often working at the scorer’s table for basketball and volleyball games, in the pressbox for soccer, teaching the undergraduate understudies the ropes of the job, writing full comprehensive game reports for the website/media on a daily basis, and shaking hands and holding babies along the way (Neuhart is expecting his third child later this year). And he also teaches a sports and media class on top of it all.
“The general success Grace has had in recent years certainly has helped us generate new and fresh ideas,” Neuhart said. “Pictures from successful moments, video opportunities, students wanting to offer ideas and thoughts, those all play into what we’ve been able to build. Our job is about promoting the Grace brand, and we’ve had a lot to talk about and show in the past couple of years.”