Monday, December 29, 2014

NEW ORLEANS, La. - The only information director the Great Northwest Athletic Conference has ever known, Bob Guptill, was selected by the U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as the winner of the inaugural Excellence in Communications Award in Division II Monday.

The USTFCCCA Excellence in Communications Award recognizes athletic communication representatives at schools and conferences who have committed to excellent coverage and support of collegiate cross country. Winners were selected by the USTFCCCA National Office.

Guptill, in his 13th year as the GNAC information director, was the only person in all three divisions to get nominated multiple times.

"This is a tremendous honor for Bob and reflective of the work he does on behalf of the sport of cross country not only in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference but for all of Division II," GNAC commissioner Dave Haglund said.

"There are many things that make Bob so good at what he does," Seattle Pacific’s Assistant Sports Information Director Mark Moschetti said in a nomination for Guptill. "Among the most significant are these two: This isn’t just a job to him. It’s a passion. That can’t be said about everyone in this business. He believes in detail and getting it right."

The quality clips in Guptill’s nominations are endless. Those clips include weekly reports, meet recaps, and meet previews.

Beyond his writing, though, Guptill has turned the GNAC cross country site into a highly useful resource. The site Guptill has built rivals any in the country, containing historical information, reports on the current season, and recruiting updates.

"Bob also is a big believer in real content, whether it’s weekly conference notes or previews and recaps of each team’s season for the conference meet program," Moschetti continued. "Simply put, there are things that not everyone does anymore, and Bob not only continues to do it, he continues to do it well. Communication is more — way more — than just tweets or blogs or Facebook or InstaGram or Pintrest — and Bob absolutely gets that."

Guptill is no stranger to accolades for his work. While working as the Central Washington sports information director, he received the NAIA’s Clarence “Ike” Pearson Award, which is presented annually to an outstanding NAIA sports information director. In 2001, he was inducted into the Central Washington University Hall of Fame.

The USTFCCCA award winner at the Division I level was Kevin Jenison of Indiana State while the Division III winner was Kirk Reynolds of Pomona Pitzer. You can read more about the winners at USTFCCCA.org.