Student-athletes at Newman University have been recognized on the all-conference and all-region levels consistently over the course of each athletic season, but recognition on the national level is stretched sparingly.
This season, however, at least six Newman University student-athletes have a shot at national honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Since 1952, CoSIDA has sponsored a nationwide recognition program of student-athletes for their combined athletic and academic efforts. Six Newman student-athletes – Rich Wincer, Emily Harvey, Anna Burton, Brian Canfield, Aaron Mack and Taylor Schieber – have each nabbed a First-Team All-District Team award, which means they have also earned an automatic place on the national ballot for the All-American Team, which is voted on by a hand-selected National Committee of Sports Information Directors.
The All-District Team award is for student-athletes from the Heartland, Lonestar, and Rocky Mountain Conferences. CoSIDA will release the First-Team All-District teams for the at-large team, which would include Newman student-athletes who participate in wrestling, golf, and tennis on May 11, and for track and cross-country on May 18. All-American Team awards will be announced in June.
Nominations for this award are based upon the discretion of the sports information director from each university, as long as the student-athletes being nominated meet the basic qualifications. These qualifications include a minimum 3.3 cumulative GPA and a requirement that the student-athlete has played a starting position or significant role in at least half of their team’s season.
Newman Sports Information Director David Rung has taken on the responsibility of not only nominating athletes for this award, but also voting on the district ballot.
In order for a student-athlete to be eligible to receive CoSIDA recognition, he or she must be a participant of a team that is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which eliminates bowlers and tri-athletes from the race for this particular award.
