DALLAS – The Penn State Football Strategic Communications team has been recognized by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) as a winner of its Super 11 Award. The Super 11 is presented annually to the top performing communications departments in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). This is the first time Penn State has received the honor in its department history.
Qualifiers for the Super 11 Award included media accessibility, press box operation, quality and timeliness of information provided, appropriately updated information online, personal responsiveness to media inquiries, as well as the accessibility of players and coaches.
Other winners for the 2020 season include: Appalachian State, Boston College, Clemson, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas State, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina and West Virginia. Penn State was one of four first-time recipients.
Associate Athletic Director Kristina Petersen oversees the Strategic Communications office and handles media requests for Head Coach James Franklin, while associate director Greg Kincaid leads the communication efforts for the Nittany Lion football program. Assisting Kincaid with football responsibilities is assistant director Paul Marboe. The Strategic Communications office provided additional support throughout the 2020 football season, including assistance from associate director Rose Carter, assistant directors Patrick Donghia, John Hanna, Matt Jackson, Nicole Praga, Ryan Snyder, Kevin Stoicovy and Chelsea Vielhauer, and staff assistant Cristin Guiher.
Also supporting Penn State's media relations efforts in 2020 were video consultant Matt Wagner, videographer Kyle Rinaldi and athletics photographer Mark Selders.
"This (2020) was a different kind of year, obviously," FWAA Executive Director Steve Richardson said. "We tried to honor schools who went the extra mile in player and coach access remotely in most cases or to help writers in a scrambled season."
FWAA members who covered college football during the 2020 season provided input in the awards survey.
In January 2009, the FWAA began the Super 11 Awards. The concept has been supported and endorsed by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), many of whom are members of the FWAA. The FWAA has now awarded Super 11 to 74 different schools in the 12 years of the program.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 1,300 men and women across North America who cover college football for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards, a national poll and its annual All-America teams.
