College Sports Information Directors of America

Below, see the schedule of the 2012 Special Award recipient feature stories which will be written by CoSIDA members throughout the spring. The full slate of 2012 Special Awards was announced March 2. All awards will be presented during the 2012 CoSIDA Convention in St. Louis (June 23-26).

• Individual feature story schedule for 2012 Special Awards
• CoSIDA St. Louis Convention awards presentation schedule

by Dan O'Connell, Towson University Director of Athletics Media Relations
CoSIDA Academic All-America® Committee Vice-Chair of Publicity

ITHACA, N.Y. - Although nobody can verify this fact, Dave Wohlhueter may have filled out more Academic All-America® ballots than anyone else.

From the time he became the sports information director at Bucknell in 1967 to this day, he has been an advocate of the Academic All-America® program and a very active participant.

Even though he retired as the Director of Sports Communications at Cornell in 1998, he continues to cast his ballots regularly in his role as treasurer of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

For his exemplary service, dedication and support of the Capital One Academic All-America® program and the promotion of the ideals of being a student-athlete, Wohlhueter is the 2012 winner of the Lester Jordan Award.

"For a long time I maintained a perfect voting record," says Wohlhueter, who has been the treasurer of CoSIDA since 1977. "Then, I missed a ballot a few years ago and I was really disappointed. The Academic All-America® program is CoSIDA's masterpiece. It is so beneficial to have this program so identified with CoSIDA. It gives us so many chances to honor deserving student-athletes."

The award is named in honor of Lester Jordan, the founder of the Academic All-America® teams. The former SID at Southern Methodist University, he retired from his position at SMU in 1969 at the age of 65. He joined the SMU staff in 1936 to chair the journalism department. Six years later, he was persuaded to add the sports information director duties.

A charter member of CoSIDA and the first recipient of its Distinguished Service Award, he is an honorary member of the Capital One® Academic All-America Hall of Fame. The Lester Jordan Award was presented for the first time in 1994.

"Throughout his long involvement with CoSIDA, Dave has been a true advocate of the Academic All-America® program," says Dick Lipe of Bentley, the chair emeritus of the Academic All-America® Committee. "Before we made the move to on-line voting, he was writing countless checks to district coordinators to cover the expenses they incurred.

"His commitment to the program is also evident by his voting record which always near 100 percent," added Lipe. "Not only does he vote on virtually every ballot, his ballot is usually one of the first submitted. The 2012 Lester Jordan Award is a well-deserved honor for Dave."

Mark Beckenbach of Ohio Wesleyan, the co-chair of the Academic All-America® Committee, says that Wohlheuter has always been a tremendous advocate for the program.

"Dave has been a friend of the Academic All-America® committee for many years and he is one of the CoSIDA board members who is most dedicated to the program and its ideals," says Beckenbach. "His voting record is impeccable -- year after year, a perfect 25-for-25 on national ballots.

"Since the advent of the on-line nomination and voting system, I've had the privilege of working much more closely with Dave," Beckenbach says. "The implementation of the on-line system added many deadline-related membership tasks to Dave's workload, but he has taken care of those with breathtaking speed and efficiency, allowing the process to keep on schedule."

The SID at Bucknell from 1967 to 1977, Wohlhueter moved on to Cornell in 1977. In 1998, he retired as the SID at Cornell after 31 years in the profession.

However, Wohlhueter is one of the busiest retirees you will ever find. He has been serving as the treasurer of CoSIDA for 35 years and continued his role after retirement.

At the CoSIDA Workshop each year, he fills several roles. He is the CoSIDA treasurer, the unofficial CoSIDA greeter, and he is virtually a maître'd of the workshop, solving any potential problems with the host hotel.

After 35 years in the role of treasurer, the Colden, N.Y. native will retire from his current role after the workshop in St. Louis.

"I started to gain an appreciation for this tremendous program when I was working at Bucknell," recalls Wohlhueter. "We started a tradition of having a lot of Academic All-America® selections and Brad Tufts continued that when he became the SID. I think Bucknell is ranked among the top ten schools for having the most.

"It's been tremendous to watch the growth of the program," he adds. "For a while, we only had a few teams and we had a tobacco company as our sponsor, if you can believe that. In the early 1980's, I think we added the At-Large teams and the program exploded."

According to Wohlhueter, "We have had some great sponsors over the years and the program is in very good shape with the current sponsor, Capital One. I believe it's a great thing that we have expanded again. The expansion makes it possible for us to recognize so many deserving student-athletes."

In 1970, as the SID at Bucknell, Wohlheuter had his first Academic All-America® first team selection, first baseman David Hill of the Bison baseball team.

"It makes me laugh when I think back to that award," he recalls. "David was a tremendous student. He graduated with a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. But, he only batted .198, I think. He would never make the first team today."

At Cornell, he continued his success of nominating Academic All-America® candidates. During his 21 years at the Ivy League school, 36 Cornell student-athletes earned Academic All-America® notice. Even more impressively, two of them were inducted into the Academic All-America® Hall of Fame. Former All-Ivy tailback Joe Holland, '78 of Cornell was inducted into the Academic All-America® Hall of Fame in 1991. In 1997, Dr. Ellen Mayer-Sabik, '84, a former gymnast, was also inducted into the Hall of Fame.

A 1960 graduate of Ithaca College, Wohlheuter earned his bachelor of science degree in television-radio broadcasting. Upon graduation, he served as sports director and advertising representative for radio station WDOS in Oneonta. In 1965, he returned to his alma mater as the SID. Two years later, he joined the staff at Bucknell.

Inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Ithaca Hall of Fame in 1987, he was also honored as the winner of CoSIDA's Arch Ward Award in 1992 and a Lifetime Service award in 1998. In 2007, he was the winner of the Bob Kenworthy Community Service Award.

He resides in Ithaca with his wife, Susan.

Individual recipient feature story schedule for 2012 Special Awards

General 2012 Special Awards release March

Mon., 5:  Kim Wenger (Centennial Conference): Rising Star Award (College Division) – by Ann King (The Sage Colleges)

Wed, 7:  Malcolm Moran: Jake Wade Award – by Joe Hornstein, CoSIDA 2nd Vice President

Fri., 9:    Maurice Williams (Hampton University): Rising Star Award (University Division) – by Ed Hill, Jr. (Howard University)

Mon. 12: Bernie Cafarelli (Notre Dame): 25-Year Award - by Debbie White (Old Dominion)

Wed. 14: Peter Schlehr (Towson University): Lifetime Achievement Award– by Ann King (The Sage Colleges)

Fri. 16:    Debbie Copp (University of Oklahoma): CoSIDA Hall of Fame - by Ann King (The Sage Colleges)

Mon. 19: [Chuck Sadowski (University of Bridgeport): 25-Year Award] - by Ann King (The Sage Colleges)

Wed. 21: [Bob Condron (USOC): Lifetime Achievement Award and Keith Jackson Eternal Flame Award](http://cosida.com/news.aspx?id=3602) - by Mike Mahon, former Drake & South Dakota SID

Fri. 23:    [Jack Neumann (University of Calgary): Warren Berg Award]

Mon. 26:  [John Lewandowki (Michigan State): 25-Year Award]

Wed. 28:  [Kennan Timm (Wisconsin-Oshkosh): CoSIDA Hall of Fame]

April

Mon., 2: [Tom Di Camillo (Pac West Conference, Central Arizona College): CoSIDA Hall of Fame]

Wed., 4:  Dave Wohlhueter (CoSIDA treasurer, Cornell-retired): Lester Jordan Award - by Dan O'Connell (Towson University)

Fri., 6:     B.L. Efring (Southern Maine): 25-Year Award

Mon., 9:  Lawrence Fan (San Jose State): CoSIDA Hall of Fame and Arch Ward Award

Wed., 11: Sue Edson (Syracuse): CoSIDA Hall of Fame

Fri., 13:   Mark Bankert (Malone University): 25-Year Award

Mon., 16: Joe Dier (Mississippi State): 25-Year Award

Wed., 18: Rich Herman (Clarion): Bob Kenworthy Award

Fri., 20:    Shirley Jones Hill (Southern Mississippi): 25-Year Award

Mon., 23: Shelly Poe (Ohio State): Trailblazer Award

Wed., 25: Michael MacEachern (Young Harris College): 25-Year Award

Fri. 27:     Roy Pickerill (Kentucky Wesleyan):25-Year Award

Mon., 30:  Bob Noss (Wright State): 25-Year Award

May

Wed., 2:  Wallace Dooley (formerly of Tennessee State): Lifetime Achievement Award

Fri., 4:     Jeff Nelson (Penn State): Bill Esposito Award

Mon., 7:  Bill Turnage (Florida Southern): Lifetime Achievement Award

Wed., 9:  Herb Vincent (LSU): 25-Year Award

Fri., 11:   Mike Mahon (formerly of Drake & South Dakota): Lifetime Achievement Award

Mon., 14: Bill Wagner (DePauw): 25-Year Award

Wed., 16: Fred Huff (formerly of Southern Illinois-Carbondale): CoSIDA Hall of Fame [Veteran Award Committee recipient]

Fri., 18:    Phil Haddy (University of Iowa): Lifetime Achievement Award

Mon., 21: Dave Geringer (University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth): 25-Year Award

Wed., 23: Charles "Chuck" Prophet (deceased; formerly of Mississippi Valley State): CoSIDA Hall of Fame

Fri., 25:   Robert Wilson (Florida State): 25-Year Award

Awards to be presented during CoSIDA St. Louis Convention, St. Louis, Missouri Sunday, June 24: Kickoff Luncheon

*Awards presented:* 25-Year Awards; Trailblazer, Kenworthy Community Service, Rising Star (University and College Divisions), Keith Jackson honors

Monday, June 25: (two award presentations)
CoSIDA Hall of Fame luncheon

*Awards presented:* Esposito, Lifetime Achievement, CoSIDA Hall of Fame awards

Capital One Special Awards Gala (dinner/ceremony)
*Awards presented:* Arch Ward, Warren Berg, Jake Wade, Lester Jordan, Enberg awards; Capital One Academic All-America® Hall of Fame induction

Calendar

Important Dates