Denison Sports Information Director, Craig Hicks, Honored By NCAA

Denison University Sports Information Director Craig Hicks has been recognized by the NCAA along with the D3SIDA (Division III Sports Information Directors of America) for his outstanding work in portraying the NCAA Division III model of intercollegiate athletics. (NCAA.org release)

A feature story published on April 20th, titled "Mount Union's Tim Kelly and Denison's Dee Salukombo Discover, Develop and Dedicate in NCAA Division III", co-authored by Hicks and Lenny Reich (Mount Union SID) has been selected for top honors in a quarterly recognition program jointly sponsored by Division III and the D3SIDA, as part of the division's Identity Initiative.

The feature story about Kelly and Salukombo, which appeared on Mount Union’s athletics website, helped bring even more attention to efforts by Salukombo to help children in his native country – a project that has drawn significant national and regional media attention since the Denison student-athlete ran 120 miles in Ohio last summer as a fund-raiser for the effort and later received a $10,000 grant to open a learning center in his home village of Kriotshe.

The quarterly recognition program is part of the Division III identity initiative. The recognition program seeks to honor the best work – including news releases, feature articles, videos, blogs and other materials – produced by Division III campus and conference sports information and strategic communications offices.

“Athletics communicators play a crucial role in promoting the Division III model of intercollegiate athletics, which encourages student-athletes to ‘follow their passions and develop their potential’,” said Dan Dutcher, NCAA Division III vice president. “This outstanding work by these sports information offices is a laudable example of the ways in which our member institutions portray the Division III philosophy as it is practiced on our campuses.”

The next award will be presented this fall for work produced during the three-month period that began June 1.