NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The annual NAIA-SIDA Convention was held in conjunction with the CoSIDA Convention on July 28 in National Harbor, Md., just outside of Washington D.C.
The event included the announcement of the winners of the NAIA-SIDA Publications and Media Contests for 2017-18, with the University of Michigan-Dearborn Sports Information Department taking home numerous honors.
The contest is open to all NAIA institutions and consists of 19 categories with a maximum number of three entries per school for each category.
Prior to last week's announcement, UM-Dearborn had never placed in any category, but broke through this year with 11 top-10s, including one first-place finish and nine in the top-5, while also placing third in the overall standings.
The UM-Dearborn Sports Information Department, led by Sports Information Director Nick McCutcheon, placed first in the category of Infographics for Events/Accolades/Breaking News for a piece that was produced for men's basketball junior Xavier Crofford reaching 1,000-career points.
McCutcheon now has 25 career top-10 awards, including three first-place honors. Prior to 2017-18, all of McCutcheon's awards in the contest came from his time at Dakota Wesleyan University, where he finished first on two occasions for Brochures/Media Guides.
Top-10 finishes for UM-Dearborn in the NAIA-SIDA Publications and Media Contest for 2017-18:
1st: Infographics - Events/Accolades/Breaking News
2nd: Infographics – Gameday
3rd: Sport Posters (Baseball)
T-3rd: Infographics – Gameday
T-3rd: Infographics – Gameday
3rd: Best Splash Page/Wallpaper
4th: Social Media – Twitter (Based on the percentage of followers gained since the start of 2017-18)
T-5th: Sport Posters (Men's Basketball)
9th: Sport Posters (Men's Lacrosse)
10th: Best Splash Page/Wallpaper
UM-Dearborn finished third in the standings for the Gary Spitler Award for excellence across multiple categories.
