COLUMBUS, Ohio – The University of Findlay was officially named as the 2020-21 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Sports Information Director Staff of the Year at the league’s annual preseason meetings on Thursday.
The Oilers received the second annual presentation of the award after Cedarville earned the initial offering of the season honor in 2019-20.
Findlay’s staff is anchored by Assistant AD for External Relations, David Buck, and Director of Athletic Communications, Kyle Niermann. Graduate assistants in the athletics communications department for 2019-20 included former men’s golf student-athlete Dylan DeWitt and Nick Taflinger.
Buck is preparing to enter his 20th year at Findlay in the athletic department and Niermann will be going into his eighth.
Each member institution’s SID department was responsible for the voting of the award.
“Being voted by our peers as Sports Information Staff of the Year is a great honor, especially since it came after one of the most difficult years we have ever experienced in athletics,” said Niermann. “While the conference hands out just one award, and we are blessed to receive it this year, it is important to recognize this as a chance to highlight the hard work of all the communications professionals working on each of the campuses in our conference, every one of which deserves this award and much more. That group is made up of often overlooked, hard-working individuals who we are lucky to call our peers and friends.”
Findlay’s efforts on the Oilers’ social media channels with motion graphics and eye-catching design elements have long been a staple of the department.
The department’s assistance in helping video stream conference championships through the Great Midwest Digital Network was also notable in a truly unpredictable year with the fall sports delayed into the spring.
Niermann was the director of multi-camera video productions for baseball at PRASCO Park and softball at Marathon Diamonds, often enlisting the help of other member institutions in the conference for a collaborative effort.
Findlay also excels in the photography department while providing action pictures to their opponents, going above and beyond, their other postgame responsibilities. The Top-10 Individual Performances put out annually is a big draw to external audiences as Findlay recently secured their third consecutive Great Midwest Presidents’ Cup honor.
The Great Midwest SID Staff of the Year award was part of the SID Meetings at the Embassy Suites near the campus of Ohio Dominican University. The Athletic Trainers Committee met on Wednesday and the Great Midwest Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Meeting is on Friday and Saturday.