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Athens, GA (Sept 24, 2008) - The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) has announced the winners of the 2008 Fred S. Stabley, Sr. Writing Contest. Bob Beretta, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Athletic Communications at the United States Military Academy at West Point, not only won his first Story of the Year honors, but he also took third place in that category.


Story Of The Year
A Michie Night To Remember
By Bob Beretta, Army

Story of the Year Third Place
A Call To Duty
By Bob Beretta, Army




Story of the Year Second Place
Tide's Michael Thompson Leaves Friday for Augusta National and The Masters
By Becky Hopf, University of Alabama
April 3, 2008

From CoSIDA

A game story that went beyond the norm - a colorful, detailed description of a football game with an exciting and unlikely finish between Army and Tulane - earned the top honor for the 2008 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Fred S. Stabley Sr. Writing Contest.

Bob Beretta, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Athletic Communications at Army, earned his first Story of the Year Award. Beretta also wrote the story that took third place in the Story of the Year category, a poignant piece on a football player who transferred to Army. He also picked up five other national and district awards.

“I’m not usually at a loss for words, but I am humbled and honored by this award,” Beretta said.

Berretta still vividly remembers the events and details of that game.

“For Army to come back and win that game was as shocking as I am to win this award. I was going on the field to prepare for our post-game and had pretty much written off our chances.”
Third-string quarterback Kevin Dunn had been pressed into service late in the game, and rallied the Golden Knights from a 17-7 deficit and led them to a 20-17 victory in overtime - An overtime that was forced when Dunn’s desperation pass on the last play of regulation was caught in the end zone.

“I’ve been here 22 years and that’s the only time I’ve seen that happen,” Beretta said. “It set off the most explosive celebration, like Army had won the national championship.”

The national judges were impressed with Beretta’s ability to turn a story that was a trap for clichés and capture the reader with a nice blend of description and quotes.

“It's hard to tell a story that's been told a thousand times ... the unlikely hero enters the game on short notice and wills his team to victory,” said one national judge. “But this story breaks out of the old, tired mode and puts you into the game. The depth of the quotes helped tell the story while not getting in the way of the writing. It was an impressive story made even better by the storyteller."

Becky Hopf, Associate Media Relations Director at Alabama, took second place with a feature on Crimson Tide golfer Michael Thompson right before he left to compete in The Masters as an amateur.

“A well-crafted story that went into great depth regarding what can only be described as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for an amateur golfer,” said one national judge. “The entire story was craftily delivered and conveyed to the reader how unique his experience was going to be and gave a glimpse inside of one of the great weekends in golf."

The 2007-08 contest drew 388 total entries, an increase of more than 100 from the previous year. District Four led the way with 75 entries. Entries were first judged at the district level, with district winners advancing to a national committee.

The Full List of Winners

National Judging

Story of the Year: Bob Beretta (Army), Dist. 1 “A Michie night to remember”

Second Place: Becky Hopf, (Alabama), Dist. 4 “Tide's Michael Thompson leaves Friday for Augusta National”

Third Place: Bob Beretta, (Army), Dist. 1, “A Call To Duty”

Athlete Profile

First Place: Becky Hopf, (Alabama), Dist. 4 “Tide's Michael Thompson leaves Friday for Augusta National”
Second Place (tie): Bob Beretta (Army), Dist. 1, “Once an athlete, always an athlete”
Second Place (tie): Herb Benenson (California), Dist. 8, “Raising the bar”

Coach/Administrator Profile

First Place: Craig Sachson, (Princeton), Dist. 2, "Glenn Nelson, Princeton's ultimate winner"
Second Place: Bob Beretta, (Army), Dist. 2, “Opportunity knocks Brock into dream job”
Third Place: Joe Wasiluk, (Virginia Wesleyan), Dist. 3, "Interim term ends as Renn is named Athletics Director”

Event Coverage

First Place: Bob Beretta, (Army), Dist. 1, “A Michie night to remember”
Second Place: Matt Kovatch, (Virginia Tech), Dist. 3, “Yankees visit to Blacksburg a special one”
Third Place: Rob Knox, (Lincoln University of PA), Dist. 2, “Lincoln battles to tie”

General Feature

First Place: Beretta, (Army), Dist. 1, “A Call To Duty”
Second Place (tie): Thomas Whitestone, (UNC Charlotte), Dist. 3 “Charlotte 49ers golf preview”
Second Place (tie): Mark Wallington, (UNLV), Dist. 8 “From UNLV to ESPN, he's the Mayne attraction”

Historical Feature

First Place: Bob Beretta, (Army), Dist. 1 “A vision for the future”
Second Place (tie): Casey Angle, (ITA), Dist. 2, “The last dynasty”
Second Place (tie): Jim Junot, (Virginia State), Dist. 3 “The fast times and short life of John Borican”

2008 Fred S. Stabley Jr. Writing Contest District Judging Results

Athlete Profile

District 1
First Place: Bob Beretta (Army), “Once an athlete, always an athlete”
Second Place: Bob Beretta (Army), “Perseverance pays off for No. 7”
Third Place: Steve Conn (Yale), “Hollander has a fighting chance: Yale captain responds to challenges”

District 2
First Place: Nathaniel Zinn (West Virginia), “The time of his life”
Second Place: Jerry Price (Princeton), “Twin spin”
Third Place: Jerry Price (Princeton), “Old friends”

District 3
First Place: Joe Guistina (USC Upstate), “Running on fear”
Second Place: Jim Junot (Virginia State), “Student-athlete profile: Sederick Green”
Third Place: Bianca Warren (Virginia State), “Student-athlete profile: Crystal Hickman”

District 4
First Place: Becky Hopf (Alabama), “Tide’s Michael Thompson leaves Friday for Augusta National and the Masters”
Second Place: Becky Hopf (Alabama), “Hurrican Katrina brought Michael Thompson to Tide golf”
Third Place (tie): Mark McGee (Lipscomb), “Jason Hopkins balancing life on and off the court”
Third Place (tie): Scott Rex (Central Michigan), “Family Tradition”

District 5
First Place: Jim Strick (Minnesota), “Gopher Profile: Ben Gordon”

District 6
First Place: Alex Restrepo (LSU), “Full throttle, Glenn Dorsey never slows down”
Second Place: Alex Restrepo (LSU), “The Flynn ultimatum
Third Place: Debbie Copp (Oklahoma), “The best of the best”

District 7
First Place: Doug Fitzgerald (UC-Colorado Springs), “Headstrong”
Second Place: Gene Cassell (Washburn), “Corkey Stiger: A leader in her own rite”
Third Place: Doug Fitzgerald (UC-Colorado Springs), “Can’t is a four-letter word”

District 8
First Place: Herb Benenson (California), “Raising the bar”
Second Place: Herb Benenson (California), “Loud & clear”
Third Place: Lawrence Fan (San Jose State), “Cross country runner earns top university honor”

Coach/Administrator Profile

District 1
First Place: Bob Beretta (Army), “Opportunity knocks Brock into dream job”

District 2
First Place: Craig Cachson (Princeton), “Glenn Nelson, Princeton's ultimate winner”
Second Place: Jerry Price (Princeton), “Marathon man”

District 3
First Place: Joe Wasiluk (Virginia Wesleyan), “Interim term ends as Renn is named Athletics Director”

District 4
First Place: Scott Rex (Central Michigan), “Keeping up with the Joneses”

District 5
First Place: Dave Beyer (Benedictine University) “Oh Johnny O”

District 6
First Place: Alex Restrepo (LSU), “Follow the hat: Miles celebrates title near and far”
Second Place: Kent Lowe (LSU), “The coach”

District 7
First Place: Con Marshall (Chadron State), “CSC coach says injury helped him succeed”

District 8
First Place: Richard D. Paige (Arizona), “UA football: A Sonny forecast”

Event Coverage

District 1
First Place: Bob Beretta (Army), “A Michie night to remember”
Second Place: Stuart Kaufman (Keene State), “The right track: Keene State jumper, runner win NCAA titles”

District 2
First Place: Rob Knox (Lincoln University of Pennsylvania), “Lincoln battles to tie”
Second Place: Diana T. Pulupa (Georgetown), “Hoyas win the men’s IC4A”

District 3
First Place: Matt Kovatch (Virginia Tech), “Yankees’ visit to Blacksburg a special one”
Second Place: Joe Guistina (USC Upstate), “McGlothlen connect with Spartans for 69-53 win over Lipscomb:
Third Place: Joe Wasiluk (Virginia Wesleyan), “Virginia Wesleyan defeats Washington and Lee for berth in championship game”

District 4
First Place: Becky Hopf (Alabama), “Tide’s Harrell having fun as participant at 2007 U.S. Open”
Second Place: Mark McGee (Lipscomb), “Lady Bisons break Curb Center spell with 68-52 win over Belmont”
Third Place (tie): Brian Fremund (Western Kentucky), “Toppers advance on Rogers’ three at the buzzer”
Third Place (tie): Sean Cartell (Kentucky), “4x400 makes statement in strong day for UK”

District 5
First Place: Brian Sullivan (Eureka College), “Red Devils get close, fall short of playoff spot”

District 6
First Place: Alex Restrepo (LSU), “Game day Xtra: Behind the scenes with CBS sports”
Second Place: Troy Mitchell (Henderson State), “Reddie baseball player remembered”
Third Place: Brian Dude (Oklahoma), “Oklahoma wins eighth national title”

District 7
First Place: Doug Fitzgerald (University of Colorado at Colorado Springs) “Excitement not lacking”
Second Place: “Alex Helmbrecht (Chadron State) “Woodhead named Harlon Hill winner”

District 8
First Place: Ron Smith (Westmont), “Westmont’s men’s basketball captures Byron championship”
Second Place: Blake Timm (Pacific), “Boxer pride meets city pride”

General Feature

District 1
First Place: Bob Beretta (Army), “A call to duty”
Second Place: Sam Rubin (Yale), “Yale’s Mr. football”
Third Place: Stuart Kaufman (Keene State), “Blaisdell knows the rules”

District 2
First Place: Ernie Larossa (John Hopkins), “Just what the Blue Jays wanted”
Second Place: Ryan Sakamoto (Georgetown), “Brittany Sonnichsen and Katherine Lang to perform…”

District 3
First Place: Thomas Whitestone (UNC Charlotte), “Charlotte 49ers golf preview”
Second Place: Scott Musa (Shenandoah), “Academic All Stars”
Third Place: Rick Brewer (North Carolina), “Former Carolina radio announcer Bill Currie recently passed away”

District 4
First Place: Tony Neely (Kentucky), “Mefford and crew keep field in great shape”
Second Place (tie): Kristy Booher (Lake Erie College), “Storm clouds have a silver lining”
Second Place (tie): Scott Rex (Central Michigan), “Chips from the old block”

District 5
First Place: Tom Weber (Southern Illinois), “The hand of the Lord”
Second Place: Jim Strick (Minnesota), “Broadfoot a Gopher institution as hockey equipment manager”

District 6

First Place: Brian Dude (Oklahoma), “Inside Oklahoma’s storybook ending”
Second Place: Rich Tortorelli (Oklahoma City), “Another OCU first: Meet our women’s wrestling team
Third Place: Ronnie Zamora (University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, “What a way to begin soccer”

District 7
First Place: Alex Helmbrecht (Chadron State) “CSC defense bends, doesn’t break”
Second Place: Con Marshall (Chadron State), “Game days a big deal in Chadron”
Third Place: Alex Helmbrecht (Chadron State), “Little Joe comes up big”

District 8
First Place: Mark Wallington (UNLV), “From UNLV to ESPN, he’s the Mayne attraction”
Second Place: Frank Mercogliano (Idaho State), “Men’s basketball 2007-08, a tale of two seasons”

Historical Feature

District 1
First Place: Bob Beretta (Army), “A vision for the future”

District 2
First Place: Casey Angle (ITA), “The last dynasty”

District 3
First Place: Jim Junot (Virginia State), “The fast times and short life of John Borican”

District 4
First Place: Scott Latta (Alabama), “The walk-on experience: Part III”

District 5
First Place: Chris Zills (UW-Milwaukee), “Decade of Dombrowski’s for UWM soccer”

District 6
First Place: Brandon Rizzuto (Nicholls State), “Dr. Hill broke barriers on, off court”

District 7
First Place: Doug Fitzgerald (UC-Colorado Springs), “The wild, wild west”

District 8
First Place: Jamie Timbrell (Willamette), “Liz Heaston ’99 gets kicks in more than one sport”
Second Place: Anton Malko (California), “From pigskin to pitch”