RELEASED:  Friday, June 15, 2007

UW-Stevens Point’s Strick and UW-Oshkosh’s Timm to Receive CoSIDA Awards

Madison, Wis.--Two Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) sports information directors will receive awards at the 2007 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Convention in San Diego, California on June 30-July 3.

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s Jim Strick will receive the organization’s Rising Star Award in the college division, while UW-Oshkosh’s Kennan Timm will be honored for his 25 years of service in the profession.

The Rising Star Award goes to a member whose work at their institution and service, dedication, energy and enthusiasm to the profession make that individual a ‘rising star’ in sports information.

Strick is completing his eighth year as assistant athletics director for media relations at UW-Stevens Point. 

A 1997 graduate of St. Norbert College, Strick spent two years as the first full-time sports information director at his alma mater before moving to UW-Stevens Point in June 1999. At UW-Stevens Point, he has worked with three NCAA Division III basketball championship teams and successfully promoted two NCAA Top VIII Award winners.

Strick was on the media staff for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics, serving as the press tribune supervisor and press conference moderator for freestyle and slalom skiing events. He also assisted at the 2006 NCAA Men's Frozen Four, 2002 NCAA men's basketball Midwest Regional and 2001 NCAA Women's Frozen Four.

Strick has served as the public address announcer for the NCAA Division III baseball championships since 2000 and has announced the Wisconsin state high school boys and girls basketball championships since 2003.

Strick earned his M.B.A. from UW-Oshkosh and has completed five marathons, including the 2007 Boston Marathon.

Timm’s 25 years in the sports information profession have extended well beyond promoting UW-Oshkosh athletics.

Timm has served as the host media relations director for 15 NCAA Division III championship events in six different sports as well as over 50 NCAA Division III regional tournaments.  Timm began his sports information career as a student at the UW-La Crosse and took over as the school’s full-time sports information director in 1982 (August).  Timm returned to his hometown in 1985 (August) to become the sports information director at UW-Oshkosh.

This past May, Timm became the first sports information director in NCAA Division III history to host two national championship events on the same weekend when UW-Oshkosh hosted the finals for both baseball and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field.  It was the eighth consecutive year that UW-Oshkosh hosted the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, which Timm has been an instrumental figure in enhancing into one of Northeastern Wisconsin’s premier spring sporting events.  Timm and UW-Oshkosh have also hosted the finals in women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s indoor track and field and women’s volleyball.

While at UW-Oshkosh, Timm has been in charge of publicizing one of the most successful athletics programs in the NCAA Division III.  UW-Oshkosh has captured 24 NCAA Division III titles since Timm’s arrival, including a pair during the 2005-06 academic year and one this past spring.  His tenure at UW-La Crosse included the promotion of three NCAA Division III championship teams.

Timm has organized and chaired three major fund-raising activities at UW-Oshkosh, including the Titan Extravaganza Party, which has raised over $140,000 for the athletics department the past 16 years.  A Titan Getaway Raffle he created brought in over $57,000 from 1991-97.

Timm, a winner of 12 CoSIDA publication awards, has seen seven of his former student assistants continue on in the sports information profession.  Among them are Becky Bohm, current University of Minnesota Associate Sports Information Director, Todd Clark, former UW-La Crosse Sports Information Director, and Dan Lukes, current St. Norbert College Sports Information Director.

In 1984, Timm was a member of the media relations staff for wrestling at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.  He has been the official statistician for the Wisconsin High School football all-star game since 1985 and the official scorer for the state’s high school baseball tournament since 1998.  Timm also served three years as a spotter for WBAY-TV when the station broadcasted Green Bay Packer preseason football games.