Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Athletic Communications Office Earns National Honor
May 02, 2013 | Football, General
Bowling Green receives FWAA 'Super 11' award
The Bowling Green State University Athletic Communications office has been honored as a "Super 11" sports information department by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), the organization announced on Friday (May 3). The honor recognizes the schools which were deemed the best 11 in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) during the 2012 season.
This marks the fourth year that the FWAA has announced its "Super 11" field. In addition to BGSU, the latest group includes Baylor, Cincinnati, Georgia, Houston, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon State, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Wyoming. For a fourth straight season, Georgia has been chosen in the elite group of sports information departments. Nebraska also won the award in 2009, but the rest are first-time winners.
Since the FWAA's inception in 1941, one of the organization's charges is to provide better working conditions for writers across the country. Over the years, the FWAA has given out press box commendations to deserving schools and has conducted ratings of sports information departments.
"There are many outstanding sports information departments representing schools across the nation," said Tim Griffin, the FWAA's 2010 president and chairman of the Super 11 selection committee. "But we continue to feel it is very important to honor the best of the best – including some we've honored multiple times over the years. These 11 departments are consistently exemplary above and beyond the call of duty."
"It is our commitment to continue to honor in upcoming years the departments who understand the demands of our jobs and strive to do what they can to try and help us on a consistent basis."
Criteria in determining criteria in determining the winners not only included how press boxes/operations were run, but the quality and timeliness of information provided, the amount of information presented and appropriately updated on websites, personal responsiveness to media inquiries as well as the accessibility of players, head and assistant coaches. The ratings also took into consideration the departments that went the extra mile in servicing the media.
The Super 11 Committee received input from other FWAA members covering college football during a period from Feb. 1, 2012 through Jan. 31, 2013.
"Just by the mere fact we have nine new departments this season shows that a growing number of schools are realizing the importance of good SID departments," said FWAA executive director Steve Richardson. "We salute these schools and the ones in the past who have been selected to this group."
In January 2009, at its board meeting, the FWAA formed the first Super 11 Committee. The concept is supported by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), many of whom are members of the FWAA.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,200 men and women across North America who cover college football for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards, a national poll and its annual All-America team.
For more information on the Super 11, visit the association's official website, footballwriters.com.
(portions of this release courtesy the Football Writers Association of America)
