Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Graduate Assistant Chris Yandle Named CoSIDA 2006 Scholarship Winner
6/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
June 12, 2006
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall University Sports Information Graduate Assistant Chris Yandle won one of two postgraduate scholarships offered by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in an announcement made today by the organization. Yandle earned the Wiley Smith Postgraduate Scholarship for the 2006-07 academic year, an award that is named in honor of the former Scholarships Committee chairman and long-time Sports Information Director at Northern Arizona.
Jessica Calderone, who spent four years working as an undergraduate in the Southeastern Louisiana Sports Information Office for Director Dart Volz, earned the other CoSIDA Postgraduate Scholarship. A May 2006 graduate of Southeastern Louisiana with a degree in general studies, Calderone finished her undergraduate career with a 3.303 GPA.
The organization selected a pair of winners to receive $5,000 each toward pursuit of their postgraduate degrees, while adding two more undergraduate scholarship winners of $2,500 each.
The scholarships will be formally announced and presented at CoSIDA's annual workshop in Nashville, Tenn., July 2-5. The Undergraduate Scholarships and Graduate Internship Grants have been awarded since 1999, when CoSIDA expanded its scholarship program in order to foster interest in the sports information field. Since presenting the first Graduate Scholarship in 1981, CoSIDA has provided nearly $350,000 in grants to students working in sports information offices at member institutions and conferences.
To be eligible for either the Postgraduate or Undergraduate Scholarships, candidates must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average and express an interest in pursuing a career in sports information.
Yandle, who earned his bachelor's degree in public relations from Louisiana-Lafayette in December 2004, helps Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations Randy Burnside in promoting the Thundering Herd football, softball and women's swimming and diving programs. Yandle carries a 4.00 cumulative graduate grade-point average while pursuing his master's degree in athletic administration.
"It's an honor and privilege to receive an award like the CoSIDA Postgraduate Scholarship," Yandle said. "You just don't know how far all those long hours of studying late at night in college and graduate school are going to take you until you receive an honor like this. I just hope I can make the most of the opportunity that this scholarship presents me and carry it over into a career in the profession."
Yandle is the second Marshall University Sports Information Graduate Assistant to capture a COSIDA Postgraduate Scholarship. Brian Gunning, currently the Media Relations Director at Ohio University, received the award in 1998 and 1999.
All-Time CoSIDA Honorees
Postgraduate Scholarship
1981 Craig Bohnert, Evansville
1982 John Lashway , Oregon
1983 Jay Hill, Michigan
1984 Jonathan Dukes, Georgia Southern
1985 Brian Teter, Illinois State
1986 Mark Berger, Ohio University
1987 Chris McMurry, Northern Arizona
1988 Angela Hultman, Mankato State
1989 Beth Haag, Iowa State
1990 Stephanie Grimes, Boise State
1991 Lana Bandy, Purdue
1992 Amy Stabley, Central Michigan/Robert Hester, Northern Illinois
1993 Will Roleson, Miami (Ohio)
1994 Randy Hayson , Illinois State
1995 Stuart McFarland, Missouri/Sally Krauss, Western Kentucky
1996 Jeff Griesch , Nebraska
1997 Chris Ambrose, Purdue/Jeff Griesch, Nebraska
1998 Chris Ambrose, Purdue/Brian Gunning, Marshall
1999 Brian Gunning, Marshall/Heidi Roth, Syracuse
2000 Mark Fratto, Maryland/Andy Knappick, Illinois State
2001 Brad Caudill , Eastern Michigan/Susan Seabrook, Alabama-Birmingham
2002 Michelle Kelley, Colgate/Sean Wright, Westminster (Mo.)
2003 Brad Fischer, Wisconsin-La Crosse/Lainie Guiddy, West Virginia
2004 Eric Braley, Northern Iowa/Kristopher Sears, Indiana
2005 Michael Potter, Ball State/Erin Whiteside, Penn State
2006 Chris Yandle, Marshall/Jessica Calderone, Southeastern Louisiana
