Sports Information Office receives seven national awards; GoLeafs.net Web site ranked third in the NAIA

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – At the annual NAIA Sports Information Director Association Workshop in San Antonio, Texas, on June 20, Goshen College Athletics was recognized for its excellence in publications with seven national awards last weekend.

The most impressive was in the Web site contest, in which www.GoLeafs.net tied for third among the nearly 300 member institutions of the NAIA. The contest ranked the athletic sites based on five categories including organization, navigation, content, visual design and overall experience.

The official home of the Maple Leafs, www.GoLeafs.net, was one of the few Web sites honored to be produced entirely in-house within the institution. Goshen College Web Coordinator Thushan Hemachandra and the Sports Information Office have led the development of the Web site, which provides rosters, schedules, news, photos, videos and features on the 14 intercollegiate sports at Goshen College.

"We are very fortunate to have very talented people like Thushan and numerous others who have provided us with a fantastic design and system to work from," said Sports Information Director Josh Gleason. "We have worked hard to continually add content and features that support and promote our outstanding student-athletes and fans and will continue to do so. This is certainly an honor as well as a challenge to keep improving."

In addition to the Web site contest, the Sports Information Office was given four awards for the quality of individual sport media guides. While combined guides have been produced at times, the awards came in just the first year that the department has made individual team guides.

The Men's Soccer Media Guide, produced by Gleason and junior Jordan Kauffman, was the top-placing brochure as it took fourth in the country. The fall sports continued to be honored as the volleyball guide placed fifth and the women's soccer guide tied for 10th place. The final media guide to earn honors was in women's basketball, where the Leafs guide took 10th. In addition to Gleason and Kauffman, 2008 graduate Celesta Torok provided assistance on the production of the publications.

Gleason received two more awards as he earned top 10 finishes in the Dr. W. Jack Bell Writing Contest for two feature stories. "Maple Leafs give relief by giving back," a story on the Goshen College athletics community outreach project placed ninth in the contest, while the story of the men's basketball team's trip to a maximum security prison, "Leafs travel for memorable preseason scrimmage," was awarded 10th place.

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

### 

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.