News Release

Ohio Wesleyan’s Sports Information Director Earns National Honor
Mark Beckenbach, OWU Class of 1981, Selected for Induction into CoSIDA Hall of Fame

March 15, 2011

Mark Beckenbach.

Beckenbach, a 1981 OWU graduate, has served as the university’s sports media contact for more than 25 years. He will be inducted into the CoSIDA Hall of Fame during the organization’s annual national convention June 26-30 in Marco Island, Fla.

“I’ve had the privilege of working with Mark both as a member of the media and as a colleague at Ohio Wesleyan,” said Mark Cooper, OWU’s director of Marketing and Communication. “For more than a quarter of a century, he has worked tirelessly to promote the successes of the Battling Bishops in every sport. We congratulate Mark on this well-deserved recognition from his fellow sports information colleagues.”

According to CoSIDA, its Hall of Fame members are selected in recognition of their “outstanding contributions to the field of college sports information.” This year’s class was chosen by a vote of more than 90 previous Hall of Fame inductees.

CoSIDA’s signature program is the Capital One Academic All-America® program, which recognizes the nation’s highest-achieving student-athletes for academic and athletic excellence. Recognition is made across all divisions including NCAA Division III, in which Ohio Wesleyan competes. Beckenbach currently serves as committee co-chair for the Academic All-America® program. In 2006, he received the Lester Jordan Award recognizing his contributions to the program.

The Academic All-America® program recognizes athletes in 12 sports: men’s at-large and women’s at-large (multiple-sport category), baseball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, softball, men’s track & field/cross country, women’s track & field/cross country and women’s volleyball.

CoSIDA was founded in 1957 and currently includes more than 2,600 members representing sports public relations, communications, and information professionals throughout all levels of collegiate athletics in the United States and Canada.

In addition to Beckenbach, other members of the CoSIDA Hall of Fame Class of 2011 include:

• Charles Bloom, Southeastern Conference
• Rich Herman, Clarion University
• Paul Madison, Western Washington University
• Dan McDonald, former sports information director at Northwestern State (La.) and Southwestern Louisiana. (McDonald was selected by the Hall of Fame Veterans Selection Committee.)

Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier small, private universities, with more than 90 undergraduate majors, sequences, and courses of study, and 23 Division III varsity sports. Located in Delaware, Ohio, just minutes north of Ohio’s capital and largest city, Columbus, the university combines a globally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities that translate classroom theory into real-world practice. OWU’s close-knit community of 1,850 students represents 45 states and 52 countries. Ohio Wesleyan earned a 2009 Presidential Award for Excellence in General Community Service, is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” and is included on the “best colleges” lists of U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. Learn more at www.owu.edu.